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: Are cattle, pigs, bison, elk, or alpaca "specified animals" for the purposes of subsection 28(1.2) of the Act?
Position: Bison and cattle - yes, the other animals are not specified animals.
Reasons: Other than bison, the animals are not considered to be bovine animals (i.e., members of the Bovinae subfamily). The issue was carefully considered in 981782.
July 19, 2000
Della Mckee HEADQUARTERS Calgary Tax Services Office M. Eisner Business Window (613) 957-2138
2000-002641
Specified Animals
This is in reply to your memorandum of May 9, 2000, concerning the above-noted subject. We also acknowledge our telephone conversation on July 5, 2000 (Eisner/McKee) in which we obtained some clarification.
Your concern is whether animals such as cattle, pigs/hogs, elk, bison/buffalo, or alpaca would be considered to be "specified animals" for the purposes of subsection 28(1.2) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act").
Our Comments
In relation to the mandatory inventory adjustment, subsection 28(1.2) of the Act sets out rules on how a farmer may choose to value a "specified animal." A "specified animal" is defined in subsection 28(1.2) of the Act to include horse and bovine animals registered under the Animal Pedigree Act if the farmer so elects. Bovine is the common term for animals in the Bovinae subfamily of the Bovidae family, which in turn belongs to the class of Mammalia. A reference to Bovine animals would include all domestic cattle, bison, water buffalo and yak. It does not include other common domestic livestock within the taxonomic family Bovidae such as domestic sheep, goats (including boer goats), or muskox. It does not include animals of other taxonomic families such as Cervidae (deer, elk, and caribou), Camelidae (llama and alpaca), Suidae (pigs), Equidae (horses), or ostriches, which belong to another class of animals.
For your information, a copy of this memorandum will be severed using the Access to Information Act criteria and placed in the legislation Access Database (LAD) on the Agency's mainframe computer. A severed copy will also be distributed to the commercial tax publishers for inclusion in their databases. The severing process will remove all material that is not subject to disclosure including information that could disclose the identity of the taxpayer. Should your client request a copy of this memorandum, they can be provided with the LAD version or they may request a copy severed using the Privacy Act criteria which does not remove client identity. Requests for this latter version should be made by you to Jackie Page at (613) 957-0682. The severed copy will be sent to you for delivery to the client.
John Oulton
Manager
Business, Property & Employment Section III
Business and Publications Division
Income Tax Rulings and
Interpretations Directorate
Policy and Legislation Branch
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