Recently published in Canadian Tax Highlights - a Canadian Tax Foundation newsletter and republished here with permission:
For Canadian purposes, an estate is now deemed to be a trust
under a 2013 amendment to the subsection 248(1) definition of a trust. My
article on Hess (see “Trust or
Estate?”, Canadian Tax Highlights, April
2012) is no longer relevant. A distribution from a foreign estate must thus be
reported on CRA form
1142
– “Information Return in Respect of Distributions from and indebtedness to a
Non-Resident Trust” where a testamentary trust arises out of an estate. This
deeming provision may create complications in the case of a trust that is
deemed to be a Canadian resident under subsection 94(3). An argument can be
made pursuant to subsection 233.6(1) that an estate is not subject to T1142
filing as the language of subsection 233.6(1) excludes an estate that arose as
a consequence of the death of an individual .
At the 2017 STEP Canada Round Table, the CRA was asked about
the filing position for a US estate with a Canadian trustee. Under Canadian law,
a US estate that is managed and controlled by a Canadian trustee is deemed to
be a Canadian resident according to the factual test set out in Fundy Settlement (2012 SCC 14). The CRA
referred to Income Tax Folio S6-F1-C1,
paragraph
1.6, in which the CRA says as follows.
1.6 For
example, when making a determination as to the jurisdiction in which the
central management and control of a trust is exercised, the CRA will consider
any relevant factor, which may include:
·
the factual role of a trustee and other persons with
respect to the trust property, including any decision-making limitations
imposed thereon, either directly or indirectly, by any beneficiary, settlor or
other relevant person; and
·
the ability of a trustee and other persons to
select and instruct trust advisors with respect to the overall management of
the trust.
For this purpose, the CRA will look to any
evidentiary support that demonstrates the exercise of decision-making powers
and responsibilities over the trust.
1.7 After an examination of all factors, it may be
determined that a trust is resident in Canada even if another country considers
the trust to be resident in that other country.
For
US tax purposes, an estate is not a trust. Whether a US estate is a trust for
US tax purposes will determine the US tax it will bear. Moreover, a US estate
is taxed on its worldwide income, but a non-US estate is taxed only on its US
source income and its ECI income. Whether an estate is a US estate is
determined by looking at the surrounding facts and circumstances. In Rev.
Ruling 81-112, 1981-1 CB, the IRS concluded that the estate was a US estate
after considering the following factors: the domicile of the decedent at time
of death, the location of the estate fiduciaries, the physical location of the
primary beneficiaries, and the physical location of the estate’s major assets.
A
non-resident trust is generally deemed to be a Canadian trust if it either had
a Canadian resident contributor or has a Canadian resident beneficiary and a
connected contributor. A connected contributor is defined as a person who
contributed to the trust and within the 5 years before or after was a Canadian
resident. The 5-year preceding period is amended to 18 months if the trust
arose as a consequence of the person’s death.
For
a non-subsection 94(3) trust, the competent authorities for Canada and for the
United States consider all the facts surrounding the estate to determine
whether the estate is a Canadian or US estate. However, for a subsection 94(3) trust,
the CRA says that “It is generally the Canadian competent authority’s position
that it would not be appropriate to cede Canadian residence of trusts subject to
section 94 of the Act in the course of negotiations with the competent
authority of the other Contracting State”. The CRA stands by this position as
if it were somewhat like a treaty override. Section 4.3 of the Income Tax Conventions Interpretation Act
- in force March 5, 2010 - clarifies that under Canadian law, a trust that is
deemed to be resident in Canada by subsection 94(3) is a Canadian resident
trust for the application of a tax convention.
The
CRA says that
Furthermore, given that section 94 of the Act
anticipates full relief for the foreign taxes paid by the trust, if any, we
understand the legislation does not contemplate the other country giving up its
right to tax the trust’s income from non-Canadian sources. Accordingly, it is
the Canadian competent authority’s expectation that the negotiation of these
cases with a view to settle the question of dual residence will generally not
be possible or advisable, particularly where both competent authorities are
known, more broadly, to be at an impasse on the matter.
The
combination of the characterization of an estate as a trust and subsection
94(3) can pose issues. Thus a US estate created by a US-resident decedent may
be a deemed Canadian trust if the decedent died within 18 months of a move to
the United States even if the person was US domiciled because he or she had
expressed an intent to live there permanently. Can and should Canada lay a
taxation claim to the estate of that former Canadian resident?
Sunita
Doobay
TaxChambers
LLP, Toronto
