CCRA indicated that, for the purposes of the “qualified small business corporation share” and “small business corporation” definitions, is a future income tax asset (either presented on the balance sheet or still unrecognized) to be taken into account, noting that “the Act refers to the assets of a business and not to the assets shown on a corporation's balance sheet,” so that unrecognized future income tax assets should also be taken into account.
However, in finding that any such asset would not be considered to be used in a business, it stated:
[A] future tax asset only represents the value of certain future economic benefits in the form of future tax savings resulting from deductible timing differences, unused loss carryforwards or certain unused tax reductions. In the light of the above observations, the value of a potential tax reduction cannot be considered to be used in an active business carried on in Canada, because it is not an employed or risked in that business.