A purchaser incorporated a Buyco to acquire the assets of the vendor corporation and then, a few weeks later, the net asset proceeds on the closing of the sale were dividended by the vendor to its corporate shareholders. If Buyco’s incorporation triggered a "safe-income determination time," such that the taxable income from the sale was not included in computing safe income, thereby resulting in a capital gain on the associated dividend of that taxable income, would such safe income be permanently lost? CRA responded:
If the safe income from the sale of the assets is not included in safe income for the purposes of the dividend paid following the sale, this safe income is generally not lost and may be used in the subsequent payment of dividends to the extent that such subsequent dividends are not part of the same series of transactions as the sale of the assets.