The Importance of Family Resemblance: Series of Transactions After Copthorne

Benjamin Alarie () and Julia Lockhart ()
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Benjamin Alarie: Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Julia Lockhart: Graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Canadian Tax Journal, 2014, vol. 62, issue 1, 69-109

Abstract: The concept of a series of transactions was a key issue in the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Copthorne Holdings Ltd. v. Canada. In light of that decision, this article reviews previous commentary on the topic and suggests a new approach based on the concept of family resemblance. Family resemblance recognizes that there are no core aspects that are the same in every series captured by a provision of the Income Tax Act. Rather, a series should be defined in relation to the purpose of the anti-avoidance provision in issue and the stylized set of transactions that Parliament was attempting to capture. Where there is a sufficient family resemblance between the stylized series and the transactions carried out, a series should be found. This concept is applied to both specific anti-avoidance rules and the general anti-avoidance rule. The article suggests how the Act could be clarified through amendments inspired by the concept of family resemblance.

Keywords: Series of transactions; statutory interpretation; GAAR; butterfly transactions; purpose (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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