The taxpayer, who was assigned to an office outside Quebec but continued to rent an apartment in Quebec, was taxable on an allowance received to cover housing costs.
Regarding the s. 6(6) exception, the Directorate stated:
The purpose of this exception is to recognize that where an employee is required to work on a temporary basis at a work site located a significant distance from the employee's usual place of residence, it would not be reasonable to expect the employee to dispose of the employee’s current residence and move to the new location for a short period of time. In addition, this subsection recognizes that where an employee continues to incur expenses in order to maintain the employee’s principal place of residence without receiving rental income in return, a benefit is not provided if the employer makes available, or reimburses, the expenses incurred in connection with a temporary residence at the particular work location.
It went on to find that it was likely that the employee’s stay at the other location was not “temporary” as its duration was significantly more than two years.