http://decision.tcc-cci.gc.ca/tcc-cci/decisions/en/item/127200/index.do
Iqbal v. The Queen (December 15, 2015 – 2015 TCC 324, Favreau J.).
Précis: The taxpayer claimed donations totalling $7,500 (both cash and in-kind gifts) to charities in 2008. The Tax Court held that she had not adduced evidence sufficient to support the making of the donations and dismissed the appeal. There was no order as to costs as it was an informal procedure appeal.
Decision: The taxpayer claimed to have made charitable donations in 2008 totalling $7,500 consisting of cash and in-kind gifts. The Court rejected her evidence as unreliable:
[23] The appellant said that she withdrew the cash from her bank account to make the donations but no bank statement showing the monthly cash withdrawals was filed as evidence in Court. The amount of the cash donations were based on a formula calculated by the appellant’s husband. I draw a negative inference from the failure of the appellant to call her husband to confirm how the cash donations were determined and when they were made.
[24] The appellant’s testimony was also vague concerning the place where the cash was kept. It is not entirely clear if all the money from her monthly withdrawals was kept by a pool coordinator or if a part of it was kept by her at home.
[25] The appellant’s testimony was particularly deficient because she could not remember the exact dates on which she made the cash or in-kind donations. She mentioned that they were made in the month of June 2008 but this was not corroborated by any verbal or documentary evidence. She was not able to give the name of the persons to whom she supposedly remitted the cash and in-kind donations and she did not call any witnesses from the charitable organizations to testify as to the contributions made nor did she submit any other evidence concerning the appraisal of the goods that she donated.
[26] The appellant did not prepare, at the time the donations were made, an itemized list of the goods donated with a short description of the goods and their estimated value. She relied entirely on the charitable organizations to estimate the value of the goods donated. I find it hard to believe that she did not want to keep goods having a total value of $4,800.
[27] In analyzing the appellant’s ability to make the alleged cash contributions, I am led to believe that the amounts are substantial compared to her net after-tax disposable income for the 2008 taxation year. The cash donations of $2,700 represented 7.3% of her net after-tax disposable income for that year.
[28] Considering the amounts of the alleged donations made by Mrs. Iqbal, I would have expected her to pay more attention to recording these donations on an ongoing basis, to make more comprehensive inquiries on the people administering these organizations and on how the donations were being used to carry out their charitable activities.
[29] For all the above reasons, taken collectively, I found that the appellant has failed to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that she made the donations at issue.
The appeal was dismissed. There was no costs award as it was an informal procedure appeal.