A UK resident is a member of a “funded unapproved retirement benefit scheme” (“FURBS”), which is a UK trust to which the taxpayer’s employer had contributed and the benefits from which are attributable to services rendered by the taxpayer while resident in the UK and before the time of retirement. Will amounts received under the FURBS be included in income if the taxpayer becomes a resident?
After stating that a “foreign pension plan would generally fall within the [employee benefit plan] definition, but a foreign EBP does not necessarily fall within the meaning of a pension plan, CRA indicated that such amounts would be taxable under s. 56(1)(a)(i) if the plan was a pension plan, and if it was any other form of EBP, such amounts would be taxable under s. 6(1)(g).
CRA went on to state:
Where the amount received out of the UK retirement plan is a lump sum amount that is taxable under subparagraph 56(1)(a)(i), a deduction may be permitted under paragraph 60(j) relating to all or a portion of the lump sum which is transferred to a registered retirement savings plan or to a registered pension plan. The tax-deferred rollover is not available for amounts which are received on a periodic basis out of the pension plan, nor is it available for amounts for which the recipient has taken a deduction under subparagraph 110(1)(f)(i) due to a specific provision of the Canada-UK Tax Convention. … [but here] no [such] deduction would be available … .
The s. 56(1)(a)(i)(C.1) exemption would be unavailable.