Respecting the situation where the sole remuneration of an employee in 2011 was a stock option benefit, or the cash remuneration in the year was insufficient to cover that required source deductions, CRA stated:
[F]ollowing the adoption of new subsection 153(1.31) … an employer can no longer relieve itself of its obligation to withhold and remit the amount of Deductions … simply because the amount deemed to be paid as a benefit under paragraph 7(1)(a) would be non-pecuniary, it was the only remuneration paid to that employee in a particular taxation year or the remuneration paid or other pecuniary benefits paid in the particular taxation year were insufficient to cover the amount of the Deductions.
… However, we would be willing to consider any particular situation as part of a request for advance rulings.