Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.
Principal Issues:
Foreign content ina RRIF is calculated seperately for each RRIF trust
Position:
Routine
Reasons:
Routine
MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER'S OFFICE (2)
ADM'S OFFICE (3)
PENDING
RETURN TO INCOME TAX RULINGS
AND INTERPRETATIONS DIRECTORATE
15TH FLOOR, ALBION TOWER
Signed on September 30, 1996
XXXXXXXXXX
Dear Colleague:
I am replying to your letter of August 29, 1996, concerning your constituent, XXXXXXXXXX, and withholding taxes on investments within two of his registered retirement income funds ("RRIF"). You asked that the overall amounts held by all RRIFs of one person be used to calculate the foreign content subject to tax.
The Income Tax Act provides that the tax on excess foreign property is levied against the trust governed by the RRIF. It is the property in each trust which is subject to the foreign property limits and not the cumulative property held in all RRIF trusts of an individual. An individual may not, therefore, measure the total of all foreign property against the total of all property held in all the RRIFs of which he or she is the annuitant. Even where there are two or more trusts with the same trustee and annuitant, each trust retains its separate identity for purposes of the RRIF rules.
As the Department of Finance is responsible for tax policy relating to RRIFs, I have sent a copy of your letter to The Honourable Paul Martin, Minister of Finance for his consideration.
I wish to thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Stewart, P.C., M.P.
C.C. The Honourable Paul Martin
Minister of Finance
Frank Gillman
957-2131
962880
August 30, 1996