The father and mother, who are separated, have not remarried and remain in the same neighbourhood in their respective residences, have joint custody of a child (and “eligible dependant”), living alternately with each other (either four days with one and three days with the other, or one week with one, and one week with the other), with the mother denied the CCTB for a period of six months per year under CRA’s CCTB shared eligibility policy. The mother had assumed primary responsibility for the care and upbringing of the eligible dependant throughout the relevant year in as per the criteria in Reg. 6302, None of the circumstances in Reg. 6301(1) applied.
Does the presumption in “eligible individual” - para. (f) apply? CRA stated:
… Cabot … [1998] 4 C.T.C. 289 established that the presumption in paragraph (f) is rebuttable, not only in the circumstances set out in [Reg.] 6301(1)… but also in light of the criteria listed in [Reg.[ 6302 of the Regulations. …
Consequently, it is necessary to determine which parent, at the beginning of each month, primarily fulfilled the responsibility for the care and upbringing of the qualified dependant. …
To address the difficulty of determining the "eligible individual" in a shared custody situation for equivalent periods of time, the Agency has developed a CCTB shared eligibility policy that recognizes that there may be, in these specific situations, two eligible individuals for the same child.
More specifically, each person, who is granted shared custody for more or less equal periods, is considered, by administrative position, to be primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of the child during the time the child lives with him or her. Thus, if a child lives with two different persons and both are considered to be primarily responsible, the Agency allows each person to be eligible for the CCTB on a six-month rotation. This rotation will continue until the situation changes or until the child turns 18 years of age. …
In light of the foregoing and the factors to be considered under section 6302 of the Regulations, if the facts of the Particular Situation support the conclusion that the mother is the person who primarily fulfills the responsibility for the care and upbringing of her child in a year, she potentially will qualify as the eligible individual throughout that year.