Canada’s Sommerer Decision And Double Taxation

A recent decision of Canada's Federal Court of Appeal provides insight on the application of the country's tax treaties to income that is attributed to a Canadian resident taxpayer under the Income Tax Act (Canada). Also, the court made useful comments on the classification of an Austrian private foundation (privatstiftung) for domestic Canadian tax purposes.

In Peter Sommerer v. The Queen, 2012 FCA 207, the court affirmed the decision of the Tax Court of Canada ( 2011 TCC 212) finding that gains realized on dispositions of shares by an Austrian private foundation were not taxable in the hands of an individual beneficiary of the foundation on the basis that either (a) the gains could not be attributed to the Canadian individual under the ITA's attribution rules or (b) the capital gains article of the Austria-Canada Income Tax Convention of 1976, as amended, prohibited Canada from taxing the gains.