Moliere once said, “Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive.”
In Knapik-Sztramko v. The Queen (2013-799(IT)I, October 17, 2013), the Tax Court of Canada managed to reduce some of that cost, at least to one opera performer.
The taxpayer was an opera singer. In 1997, she entered a vocal competition organized by the Gerda Lissner Foundation. The taxpayer won the competition and from 1997 to 2006 she received monies for the payment of singing coaches, stage training, accommodation and travel expenses. The CRA reassessed the taxpayer to include in her income the amounts received from the Foundation.
Under paragraph 56(1)(n), a taxpayer must include in his/her income any amount received as or on account of a prize other than a “prescribed prize”. Section 7700 of the Income Tax Regulations states,
7700. For the purposes of subparagraph 56(1)(n)(i) of the Act, a prescribed prize is any prize that is recognized by the public and that is awarded for meritorious achievement in the arts, the sciences or service to the public but does not include any amount that can reasonably be regarded as having been received as compensation for services rendered or to be rendered.
In this case, the Crown conceded that the prize was recognized by the public and was for meritorious achievement in the arts. However, the Crown argued, the prize was paid as compensation for services. In the Crown’s view, the taxpayer had undertaken certain activities (coaching, training, career development, etc.) for, and provided services to, the Foundation in exchange for the money.
The Tax Court found that the taxpayer had provided no services to the Foundation, and that the activities undertaken by the taxpayer were consistently comprised of training, support and education to enhance her performance abilities:
The identification of the appellant as someone worthy of specialized study and training was the basis for awarding the prize from the Foundation’s perspective. This prize was not a relationship of, or in substitution for, employment, but a prize awarded on merit with reasonable conditions attached in order to ensure that the burgeoning talent identified was further refined by the benefactor.
The Tax Court allowed the taxpayer’s appeal.
The tax treatment of prizes is a nuanced area, dovetailing as it does with the taxation of scholarships, bursaries, fellowships and employment income. The issue seems to garner public attention every four years when the CRA responds to queries as to whether Olympic medal-winning athletes are subject to tax in Canada on their prizes (answer: Canadian athletes, yes (see CRA Document No. 2004-0098691E5 “Prizes paid to amateur athletes” (January 21, 2005), CRA Document No. 2008-0300071M4 “Olympic medals” (June 26, 2009) and CRA Document No. 2012-0458181M4 “Olympic performance awards” (September 18, 2012)); non-resident athletes, no (see subsection 115(2.3) of the Income Tax Act)).
The Tax Court’s decision in Knapik-Sztramko is a helpful case in a limited body of jurisprudence on what qualifies as a non-taxable prize under paragraph 56(1)(n) and Regulation 7700.
