SCC To Decide Tax Advisor Penalty Case On July 31

What is the nature of the third-party penalty in section 163.2 of the Income Tax Act? That question will be answered by the Supreme Court of Canada when it decides the case of Guindon v. The Queen (Docket No. 35519) on Friday July 31.

See our previous posts on the Guindon case here and here.

In Guindon, the Tax Court found that the penalty imposed under section 163.2 is a criminal penalty, not a civil one, and therefore subject to the protection of (inter alia) section 11 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Federal Court of Appeal reversed on the basis that Ms. Guindon did not provide notice of a constitutional question, and thus the Tax Court lacked jurisdiction to make an order on the nature of section 163.2. In any event, the Federal Court of Appeal also stated that the penalty under section 163.2 was not criminal in nature, and hence, was not subject to Charter protections.