A corporation ("Holdco") holding some of the voting shares of a corporation ("Opco") may receive amounts (contingent payments) from a non-resident corporation or its subsidiary, in the event that certain events (liquidity events) occur in relation to the non-resident corporation or its subsidiary, with the payments to Holdco representing a percentage of the cash derived from the shares of the non-resident corporation's subsidiary (in the form of dividends or the sale of such shares). Are the amounts royalties, income from property, business or capital gain? After referring to various judicial definitions of “royalty, CRA stated:
[T]he amounts described in the contract as "contingent payments" that may be paid to Holdco do not, in our view, appear to represent royalties to Holdco.
It went on to indicate that there was insufficient information to determine whether the amounts were income from property or a business or a capital gain.