On a sale of the business of a pharmacist, the goodwill value of $750,000 (payable in 72 equal monthly instalments) is based on the number of prescriptions sold over a 12-month period multiplied by a set amount per prescription. However, this amount would be reduced, if the operation of the dispensary were to cease due to non-renewal or termination of the lease by the lessor before the sixth anniversary of the sale, by an amount equal to 1/72 of such purchase price for each such month before the 6th anniversary of the sale. CCRA stated:
The expression "has or may become entitled to receive" is not defined in the Act. According to the jurisprudence, an amount is receivable when a taxpayer has a definite right to receive it, even if it is not necessarily due. To be "entitled to receive" an amount, one must show that the conditions on which the claim is based have been satisfied. Adding the words "may become" to this expression broadens its scope, since it refers to the possibility of someone meeting the conditions necessary for a claim in the future.
… [T]he pharmacist may become entitled to receive the full price of the goodwill, in your example $750,000, so that the taxpayer must include this full amount under paragraph (a) of Variable E of CEC in the taxation year of the sale of the goodwill. …
CCRA went on to note that if there was a subsequent downward adjustment to the purchase price, a corresponding deduction generally would be available under s. 24(1)(a).