Regarding a query as to any applications by CRA of the principal purpose test (“PPT”) under Art. 7(1) of the MLI, CRA stated:
[T]he CRA has started monitoring compliance with the MLI on a priority basis in advance of the normal audit cycles. To date, the CRA has not issued any assessments on the basis of the PPT, although compliance review processes are underway.
CRA further indicated that, other than a pre-ruling consultation described at 2021 IFA Roundtable, Q.2 (which was put on hold pending the Supreme Court decision in Alta Energy), “[t]o date, the CRA has not received any other ruling or pre-ruling consultation request relating to the PPT.”
Regarding Alta Energy:
The SCC considered a matter central to the CRA’s ongoing efforts to protect Canada’s tax base and the integrity of its tax treaties. The meaning and effect of the decision continues to be analyzed by the CRA, the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice as the processing of the files that were held in abeyance at different audit or litigation stages pending the decision of the Supreme Court in Alta Energy resumes.
CRA further stated:
The potential application of the GAAR and the PPT in each case will be examined in light of the directives provided by the Courts in different decisions where relevant as informed, amongst others, by the relevant facts, the taxpayer’s motives and the relevant tax treaty provisions. Practitioners may refer to [2020-0862471C6] for general guidance on determining whether any arrangement or transaction has, as one of its principal purposes, the obtaining of a treaty benefit. Similar guidance may apply to determine the primary purpose of a transaction under the GAAR.