2nd Session, 35th Parliament,
45 Elizabeth II, 1996

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-70

An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act, the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, the Income Tax Act, the Debt Servicing and Reduction Account Act and related Acts

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

PART I

R.S., c. E-15; R.S., c. 15 (1st Supp.), cc. 1, 7, 42 (2nd Supp.), cc. 18, 28, 41, 42 (3rd Supp.), cc. 12, 47 (4th Supp.); 1988, c. 65; 1989, c. 22; 1990, c. 45; 1991, c. 42; 1992, cc. 1, 27, 28, 29; 1993, cc. 25, 27, 28, 38; 1994, cc. 9, 13, 21, 29, 41; 1995, cc. 5, 36, 41, 46; 1996, cc. 10, 20, 21, 23

EXCISE TAX ACT

Technical Amendments

1. (1) The definitions ``charity'', ``hospi tal authority'', ``improvement'', ``mobile home'', ``non-profit organization'', ``offi cer'', ``school authority'', ``short-term ac commodation'', ``university'' and ``used tangible personal property'' in subsection 123(1) of the Excise Tax Act are replaced by the following:

``charity''
« organisme de bienfaisan-
ce
»

``charity'' means a registered charity or regis tered Canadian amateur athletic association within the meaning assigned to those ex pressions by subsection 248(1) of the In come Tax Act, but does not include a public institution ;

``hospital authority''
« administra-
tion hospitaliè-
re
»

``hospital authority'' means an organization that operates a public hospital and that is designated by the Minister as a hospital au thority for the purposes of this Part;

``improvemen t''
« améliora-
tions
»

``improvement'', in respect of property of a person, means any property or service sup plied to, or goods imported by, the person for the purpose of improving the property, to the extent that the consideration paid or payable by the person for the property or service or the value of the goods is, or would be if the person were a taxpayer under the Income Tax Act, included in determining the cost or, in the case of property that is capital property of the person , the adjusted cost base to the person of the property for the purposes of that Act;

``mobile home''
« maison mobile »

``mobile home'' means a building, the manufacture and assembly of which is com pleted or substantially completed, that is equipped with complete plumbing, electri cal and heating facilities and that is de signed to be moved to a site for installation on a foundation and connection to service facilities and to be occupied as a place of residence , but does not include any travel trailer, motor home, camping trailer or oth er vehicle or trailer designed for recreation al use;

``non-profit organization''
« organisme à but non lucratif »

``non-profit organization'' means a person (other than an individual, an estate, a trust, a charity, a public institution, a municipali ty or a government) that was organized and is operated solely for a purpose other than profit, no part of the income of which is pay able to, or otherwise available for the per sonal benefit of, any proprietor, member or shareholder thereof unless the proprietor, member or shareholder is a club, a society or an association the primary purpose and function of which is the promotion of ama teur athletics in Canada;

``officer''
« cadre »

``officer'' means a person who holds an office ;

``school authority''
« administra-
tion scolaire
»

``school authority'' means an organization that operates an elementary or secondary school in which it provides instruction that meets the standards of educational instruc tion established by the government of the province in which the school is operated ;

``short-
term accommoda-
tion''
« logement provisoiret »

``short-term accommodation'' means a resi dential complex or a residential unit that is supplied to a recipient by way of lease, li cence or similar arrangement for the pur pose of its occupancy by an individual as a place of residence or lodging, where the pe riod throughout which the individual is giv en continuous occupancy of the complex or unit is less than one month and, for the pur poses of sections 252.1, 252.2 and 252.4,

      (a) includes any type of overnight shelter (other than shelter on a train, trailer, boat or structure that has means of, or is capable of being readily adapted for, self-propulsion) when supplied as part of a tour package (within the meaning assigned by subsection 163(3)) that also includes food and the services of a guide, and

      (b) does not include a complex or unit when it

        (i) is supplied to the recipient under a timeshare arrangement, or

        (ii) is included in that part of a tour package that is not the taxable portion of the tour package (within the mean ing assigned to those expressions by subsection 163(3));

``university''
« université »

``university'' means a recognized degree- granting institution or an organization that operates a college affiliated with, or a re search body of, such an institution;

``used tangible personal property''
« bien meuble corporel d'occasion »

``used tangible personal property'' means tan gible personal property that has been used in Canada;

1993, c. 27, s. 10(1)

(2) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of the defini tion ``commercial activity'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act are replaced by the following:

      (a) a business carried on by the person (other than a business carried on without a reasonable expectation of profit by an individual, a personal trust or a partner ship, all of the members of which are individuals), except to the extent to which the business involves the making of exempt supplies by the person,

      (b) an adventure or concern of the person in the nature of trade (other than an adventure or concern engaged in without a reasonable expectation of profit by an individual, a personal trust or a partner ship, all of the members of which are individuals), except to the extent to which the adventure or concern involves the making of exempt supplies by the person, and

(3) Paragraph (d) of the definition ``fi nancial instrument'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      (d) an interest in a partnership, a trust or the estate of a deceased individual , or any right in respect of such an interest,

1993, c. 27, s. 10(7)

(4) Paragraphs (j) and (j.1) of the defini tion ``financial service'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act are replaced by the following:

      (j) the service of investigating and rec ommending the compensation in satis faction of a claim where

        (i) the claim is made under a marine insurance policy, or

        (ii) the claim is made under an insur ance policy that is not in the nature of accident and sickness or life insurance and

(A) the service is supplied by an insurer or by a person who is licensed under the laws of a prov ince to provide such a service, or

(B) the service is supplied to an insurer or a group of insurers by a person who would be required to be so licensed but for the fact that the person is relieved from that require ment under the laws of a province,

      (j.1) the service of providing an insurer or a person who supplies a service referred to in paragraph (j) with an appraisal of the damage caused to proper ty, or in the case of a loss of property, the value of the property, where the supplier of the appraisal inspects the property, or in the case of a loss of the property, the last-known place where the property was situated before the loss,

(5) Paragraph (q) of the definition ``fi nancial service'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      (q) the provision, to a corporation, part nership or trust the principal activity of which is the investing of funds, of

        (i) a management or administrative service, or

        (ii) any other service (other than a prescribed service),

      where the supplier is a person who provides management or administrative services to the corporation, partnership or trust,

1993, c.27, s. 10(10)

(6) The definition ``insurance policy'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act is amended by striking out the word ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (a)(iii) and by replacing paragraph (b) with the following:

      (b) a policy or contract in the nature of accident and sickness insurance, whether the policy is issued, or the contract is entered into, by an insurer, and

      (c) a bid, performance, maintenance or payment bond issued in respect of a construction contract;

(7) The portion of the definition ``public college'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

``public college''
« collège public »

``public college'' means an organization that operates a post-secondary college or post- secondary technical institute

      (a) that receives from a government or a municipality funds that are paid for the purpose of assisting the organization in the ongoing provision of educational services to the general public, and

1993, c. 29, s. 10(13)

(8) The portion of the definition ``residen tial complex'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act after paragraph (e) is replaced by the following:

    but does not include a building, or that part of a building, that is a hotel, a motel, an inn, a boarding house, a lodging house or other similar premises, or the land and appurte nances attributable to the building or part, where the building is not described in paragraph (c) and all or substantially all of the supplies of residential units in the building or part by way of lease, licence or similar arrangement are, or are expected to be, for periods of continuous possession or use of less than sixty days;

1993, c. 27, s. 10(13)

(9) The portion of paragraph (c) of the definition ``residential trailer park'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act before subpara graph (i) is replaced by the following:

      (c) are supplied, or are intended to be supplied, by way of lease, licence or similar arrangement under which contin uous possession or use of a site is provided for a period of at least

1993, c. 27, s. 204 (Sch. II, item 1(a)(F)

(10) Paragraph (b) of the definition ``residential unit'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      (b) a suite or room in a hotel, a motel, an inn, a boarding house or a lodging house or in a residence for students, seniors, individuals with a disability or other individuals, or

(11) The definition ``person'' in subsec tion 123(1) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:

``person''
« personne »

``person'' means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, the estate of a deceased indi vidual , a trust, or a body that is a society, union, club, association, commission or other organization of any kind;

(12) Subsection 123(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following in alpha betical order:

``direct cost''
« coût direct »

``direct cost'' of a supply of tangible personal property or a service means the total of all amounts each of which is the consideration paid or payable by the supplier

      (a) for the property or service if it was purchased by the supplier for the purpose of making a supply by way of sale of the property or service, or

      (b) for an article or material (other than capital property of the supplier) that was purchased by the supplier, to the extent that the article or material is to be incorporated into or is to form a constitu ent or component part of the property, or is to be consumed or expended directly in the process of manufacturing, producing, processing or packaging the property

    and, for the purpose of this definition, the consideration paid or payable by a supplier for property or a service is deemed to include any tax, duty or fee that is pre scribed for the purposes of section 154 or imposed under this Part and is payable by the supplier in respect of the acquisition or importation of the property or service;

``inter vivos trust'' Version anglaise seulement

``inter vivos trust'' means a trust other than a testamentary trust;

``office''
« charge »

``office'' has the meaning assigned by subsec tion 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, but does not include

      (a) the position of trustee in bankruptcy,

      (b) the position of receiver (including the position of a receiver within the meaning assigned by subsection 266(1)), or

      (c) the position of trustee of a trust or personal representative of a deceased individual where the person who acts in that capacity is entitled to an amount for doing so that is included in computing, for the purposes of that Act, the person's income or, where the person is an individ ual, the person's income from a business;

``personal representa-
tive''
« représentant personnel »

``personal representative'', of a deceased indi vidual or the estate of a deceased individu al, means the executor of the individual's will, the administrator of the estate or any person who is responsible under the ap propriate law for the proper collection, ad ministration, disposition and distribution of the assets of the estate;

``personal trust''
« fiducie personnelle »

``personal trust'' means

      (a) a testamentary trust, or

      (b) an inter vivos trust that is a personal trust (within the meaning assigned by subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act) all the beneficiaries (other than contin gent beneficiaries) of which are individu als and all the contingent beneficiaries of which, if any, are individuals, charities or public institutions;

``public institution''
« institution publique »

``public institution'' means a registered char ity (within the meaning assigned by subsec tion 248(1) of the Income Tax Act) that is a school authority, a public college, a univer sity, a hospital authority or a local authority determined under paragraph (b) of the defi nition ``municipality'' to be a municipality;

``self-
contained domestic establish-
ment''
« établis-
sement domestique autonome
»

``self-contained domestic establishment'' has the meaning assigned by subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act;

``telecommuni -
cation service''
« service de télécom-
munication
»

``telecommunication service'' means

      (a) the service of emitting, transmitting or receiving signs, signals, writing, images or sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, cable, radio, optical or other electromagnetic system, or by any similar technical system, or

      (b) making available for such emission, transmission or reception telecommu nications facilities of a person who carries on the business of supplying services referred to in paragraph (a);

``telecommuni -
cations facility''
« installation de télécom-
munication
»

``telecommunications facility'' means any fa cility, apparatus or other thing (including any wire, cable, radio, optical or other elec tromagnetic system, or any similar techni cal system, or any part thereof) that is used or is capable of being used for telecommu nications;

``testamentary trust''
« fiducie testamen-
taire
»

``testamentary trust'' has the meaning as signed by subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act;

(13) The definitions ``charity'' and ``non- profit organization'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act, as enacted by subsection (1), and the definitions ``direct cost'' and ``public institution'' in subsection 123(1) of the Act, as enacted by subsection (12), are deemed to have come into force on January 1, 1997 except that

    (a) the said definitions ``charity'' and ``public institution'' also apply in relation to any supply made before that day by a person who is on that day a public institution as defined on that day where consideration for the supply becomes due on or after that day or is paid on or after that day without having become due; and

    (b) the said definition ``direct cost'' also applies to supplies made before that day for which consideration becomes due on or after that day or is paid on or after that day without having become due.