Beaudet v. R. – TCC: Taxpayer largely successful in GST valuation appeal

Bill Innes on Current Tax Cases

http://decision.tcc-cci.gc.ca/tcc-cci/decisions/en/item/66888/index.do New Window

Beaudet v. The Queen (February 14, 2014 – 2014 TCC 52 ) was a case dealing with self-assessed GST on four related properties:

[1] The appellant is an undeclared partnership made up of two partners, Claude Beaudet, chartered appraiser, and Alain Saucier, actuary. This partnership operates a business that builds multiple unit residential complexes for rental purposes. During the period from April 1, 2006, to June 30, 2009, it built four buildings, all located on one lot that it had acquired in 2003, governed by a co-ownership agreement signed in 2008 and having street addresses 6300, 6400, 6305 and 6405 Rue de l’Aster, Québec. This project was known as “Les Jardins de l’Aster” and was built in four phases, one building per year. Since these buildings were constructed by the appellant, which became the owner in the course of its commercial activities (namely renting apartment units), it is deemed to have paid as a recipient and collected as a supplier the tax in respect of the supply of these buildings, calculated on the fair market value (FMV) of each building on the day the work was substantially completed or, if later, the day it gave possession of the apartment building or an apartment in that building to a tenant This is a self-assessment by the builder for the self-supply of a multiple unit residential complex, pursuant to subsection 191(3) of the Excise Tax Act (ETA).

The sole issue before the court was the fair market value of each property at the date of substantial completion. The taxpayer and the Crown had competing valuations:

Value Determined
Appellant     Respondent
6300 de l’Aster June 1, 2006 $4,450,000 $5,054,000
6400 de l’Aster June 1, 2007 $4,550,000 $5,524,000
6305 de l’Aster June 1, 2008 $4,900,000 $5,859,000
6405 de l’Aster June 1, 2009 $5,150,000 $6,335,000

The court reviewed the expert evidence in considerable detail and, in the end, largely accepted the appellant’s valuations:

Value Determined
Appellant     Court
6300 de l’Aster 01-Jun-06 $4,450,000 $4,772,612
6400 de l’Aster 01-Jun-07 $4,550,000 $4,907,324
6305 de l’Aster 01-Jun-08 $4,900,000 $5,309,008
6405 de l’Aster 01-Jun-09 $5,150,000 $5,377,459

Thus the valuations determined by the court were in each case substantially lower than the valuations proposed by the Crown and increased the valuations proposed by the appellant only modestly (in a range of 4% to 8%).  As the case is highly fact specific it is unlikely that there is a great deal to be gained by reviewing the valuation issues in detail.

As a result the appeal was allowed and the appellant was awarded its costs.