No Interest on s160 Assessment

A class action, Deanne Ho-A-Shoo, was commenced against the federal government in the Ontario Superior Court, seeking recovery of interest paid under section 160 of the Canadian Income Tax Act. Section 160 allows Revenue Canada to pursue family members and others who receive property without paying fair market value(FMV), from a person who owes tax at the time of the transfer. In the past CRA has sought to recover not only the value of the property, but also interest on that amount. In the 1998 Algoa Trust case, the Court held that interest could not be assessed on a section 160 liability based on the fair market value of the property transferred, but CRA had not taken steps to pay back interest collected improperly. The case was settled in 2001 on the basis of CRA repaying the interest charged to the plaintiff.