(a) Mr. X, who has for a number of years been the policy holder of a term life insurance policy (for 100 years) without a cash surrender value and an adjusted cost basis of $10,000, transfers the policy to his wholly-owned corporation (ABC Inc.) for no consideration, so that it becomes the policyholder and beneficiary and assumes the premium-payment obligations. Would Mr. X’s proceeds of disposition under proposed s. 148(7)(a) be $10,000 given that there is no “consideration…given” and that s. 69(1)(b) only deems proceeds to have been “received”?
(b) At the 2005 CALU Roundtable, CRA indicated that s. 69(5) (respecting a s. 88(2) wind-up) prevailed over s. 148(7). However, in 920437, CRA indicated that s. 148(7) prevailed over the more general rule in s. 52(2). Is CRA prepared to recognize the primacy of s. 148(7) given its specific nature?
CRA responded:
Since the preamble to subsection 69(1) provides that it is applicable "except as expressly otherwise provided in this Act," it follows that proposed paragraph 148(7)(a) prevails over paragraph 69(1)( b).
Given the above, Mr. X is deemed to have become entitled to receive proceeds of disposition equal to $10,000 under proposed paragraph 148(7)(a).
Respecting (b), CRA stated:
Given the…limited scope of the proposed amendments with respect to the disposition of an interest in a life insurance policy, the CRA is of the view that the comments made at the two Roundtables are still valid.