Tax court of Canada | Tax | Income tax | Business and property income
Taxpayers appealed assessments for taxation years 2010 to 2012 denying them losses they claimed arose in carrying on of dog kennel business. Minister concluded they were not engaged in a business but that dog kennel operation was hobby. Appeals dismissed. Taxpayers had moved from Pickering to Huntsville in 2010 and lost contacts as well as losing championship dog. Taxpayers lacked business plan. Revenues from their operation arose from training and boarding and had never shown a profit. Given personal element of attraction to dogs court had to examine pursuit of profit test to determine if venture was undertaken in sufficiently commercial manner to be considered source of income. Dog training did not make up significant part of business and not clear exactly what was breakdown of revenue among breeding, training, boarding and dog sitting. While some thought given as to future course of action, it did not appear to be based on making any profits for some years which did not support commerciality of venture in years at issue. Taxpayer produced no financial records illustrating whence revenues were derived, no financial statements, no ledgers, no customer lists nor advertising materials. Venture could at best be described as dabbling, which suggested hobby than business.
Savage v. The Queen (2017), 2017 CarswellNat 7138, 2017 CarswellNat 7368, 2017 TCC 247, 2017 CCI 247, Campbell J. Miller J. (T.C.C. [Informal Procedure]).
