A recent Tax Court of Canada (TCC) decision, Gestion M.-A. Roy Inc. v. The King (2022 CCI 144) (under appeal) deals with insurance planning considerations when different corporations within a corporate structure are the owner, beneficiary, or payor of an insurance polic(ies). In Gestion Roy,the TCC found that there was taxable shareholder benefits to two holding companies (Holdcos) when an operating company (Opco) paid insurance premiums for various insurance policies owned by the Holdcos and where Opco was the beneficiary. The TCC concluded that a subsection 15(1) shareholder benefit applied to Gestion M.-A Roy Inc. (Holdco1) and a subsection 246(1) benefit applied to 4452712 Canada inc. (Holdco2).

This presentation discusses:

• shareholder benefit issues the Gestion Roy case raises.
• CRA interpretations on the tax treatment of corporate owned insurance structures.
• the Harding case (2022 TCC 3) involving the designation of family members under corporate owned arrangement.
• planning options (including the pros and cons of trusts), and
• the tax results of transferring policies to accommodate changes in corporate owned insurance arrangements.