General Motors of Canada Limited ("GMC") made "residual value support payments" to the taxpayer ("GMAC"), which purchased vehicles subject to leases, in consideration for GMAC increasing the residual values (thereby reducing lease payments). These payments were received by GMAC on income account. For the period in issue, "true up" payments were made on the lease terminations based on the actual loss (if any) experienced by GMAC relative to the (inflated) residual value, so that if that loss were less than the support payment (or nil, if the customer purchased the vehicle for the residual value), GMAC refunded the support payment to GMC to that extent (and, conversely, received a further payment from GMC if the loss were greater.)
GMAC argued that, because the support payments were not earned when received, the exclusion in s. 12(1)(x)(v) for income receipts did apply, so that s. 13(7.4) election to exclude those amounts from income had been validly made. Graham J found that for the same reason that a support payment was unearned (i.e., there was "no legal right to keep the amount"), it also was not received for s. 12(1)(x) purposes (para. 40). He also questioned (in f.n. 10) whether the s. 13(7.4) elections would have been available in any event because the "support payments were received to replace lost income rather than in respect of the cost of the vehicles."
See summaries under s. 9 – timing, s. 9 – compensation payments and s. 9 – computation of profit.