"adjusted paid up capital" means the result obtained by subtracting the deduction, if any, made by a corporation under section 15 from the corporation's net B.C. paid up capital;
"administrator" means the person designated as the administrator by the minister for the purposes of this Act;
"aggregate paid up capital" means
(a) in relation to a bank, trust company or credit union, aggregate paid up capital within the meaning of section 7,
(b) in relation to a corporation that is registered or licensed under the laws of a province to trade in securities, aggregate paid up capital within the meaning of section 8, or
(c) in relation to a corporation that is not a bank, a trust company, a credit union or a corporation referred to in section 8 or 14 (2), aggregate paid up capital within the meaning of section 9;
"amount" means an amount of money or the dollar value of a right or thing;
"apartment corporation" means a corporation
(a) that is, in respect of an apartment building,
(i) an owner of the building, or
(ii) a lessee of the building under a lease, registered in the land title office, for a term of at least 99 years,
(b) each of the shareholders of which has a right to occupy one apartment in the apartment building, and
(c) that operates the apartment building exclusively for the benefit of its shareholders so that no one other than a shareholder and the individuals with whom the shareholder resides may reside in the building except in exceptional circumstances and for a limited time;
"applicable taxation year" means, in relation to a nonresident corporation,
(a) if the corporation has a branch in Canada, the branch's taxation year, or
(b) in any other case, the corporation's taxation year;
"assessment" includes reassessment;
"associated" and "associated corporations" have the same meaning as in section 256 of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"bank" does not include a bank in respect of which an application under section 344 of the Bank Act (Canada) has been approved under section 345 (2) of that Act;
"B.C. paid up capital" means
(a) in relation to a corporation that is a nonresident corporation to which section 14 (2) applies at the end of an applicable taxation year, the result obtained by subtracting the deduction, if any, made by the corporation under section 12 (2) at the end of that taxation year from the corporation's net paid up capital employed in Canada, or
(b) in any other case, the result obtained by subtracting the deduction, if any, made by a corporation under section 12 (1) from the corporation's net paid up capital;
"business" means an undertaking of any kind, and includes
(a) any profession, calling, trade or manufacture,
(b) any adventure in the nature of trade,
(c) any concern in the nature of trade, and
(d) any arrangement or endeavour conducted with a view to earning revenue or profit from an activity or an investment;
"capital lease" means a lease that is, under generally accepted accounting principles, considered to be a capital lease;
(a) an Act, statute, ordinance, letters patent, certificate or declaration,
(b) other instrument or provision of law by or under which a corporation is incorporated, amalgamated or continued,
(c) the memorandum, articles or bylaws, by whatever name called, of a corporation, and
(d) the constitution and rules of a credit union;
"cooperative corporation" means a corporation, other than a credit union,
(a) that is incorporated, by or under a law of Canada or a province that provides for the establishment of the corporation or for the establishment of cooperative corporations generally, for the purposes of
(i) marketing natural products belonging to or acquired from its members or customers including any processing connected with or incidental to that marketing,
(ii) purchasing supplies, equipment or household necessities for, or to be sold to, its members or customers, or
(iii) performing services for its members or customers, and
(b) to which the following apply:
(i) the statute by or under which it is incorporated, its charter or its contracts with its members, or its members and customers, provides for payments to be made to them in proportion to patronage;
(ii) none of its members, other than other cooperative corporations, has more than one vote in the conduct of the affairs of the corporation;
(iii) at least 90% of its members are individuals, family farm corporations or other cooperative corporations and at least 90% of its shares, if any, are held by individuals, family farm corporations or other cooperative corporations;
(a) the agent, assignee, trustee, liquidator, receiver or another official in whose hands, or under whose control, all or any part of a corporation's property is placed,
(b) a bank, trust company or credit union, and
(c) a Crown corporation with or without share capital;
"credit union" means a credit union as defined in the Financial Institutions Act;
"current accounts payable" means, in respect of a corporation, partnership or joint venture, amounts that are reported as current liabilities in its taxation year end financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that represent
(a) its employee source deductions,
(b) its current taxes payable,
(c) its wages and salaries payable,
(d) its trade accounts payable,
(e) an amount payable to a creditor if
(i) the corporation, partnership or joint venture carries on the business of a retail automobile or truck dealership or a retail farm machinery and equipment dealer, and
(ii) the amount is secured by a purchase money security interest in itemized motor vehicle inventory or in itemized farm machinery and equipment inventory, and
(f) cheques issued by it for amounts referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e) and outstanding in excess of funds on deposit,
but does not include any amounts that represent
(g) the current portion of long term indebtedness, or
(h) liabilities incurred more than 120 days before the end of its taxation year and not paid by the end of that taxation year;
"deferred credit" includes, in respect of a corporation, partnership or joint venture, government assistance, government grants, investment tax credits or tax incentives that are reported or accounted for in the financial statements of the corporation, partnership or joint venture;
"family farm corporation" means a corporation
(a) 75% of the revenue of which is, in its taxation year, earned from farming in British Columbia,
(b) that is registered or licensed to carry on business in British Columbia, and
(c) of which the beneficial owners of at least 80% in number of the issued shares of each class of shares of the corporation that have attached to them the right to vote in the election of directors are individuals who are
(i) resident in British Columbia,
(ii) related to each other within the meaning of the regulations, and
(iii) actively engaged in farming or who are the parents, children or spouse of a person who is actively engaged in farming;
"farming" means one or more of the following:
(a) tillage of the soil;
(b) growing of cereals, vegetables, fruit, berries, nuts, grapes, mushrooms, hops, hay, clover, spices, herbs, nursery stock, seedlings and Christmas trees;
(c) raising or keeping of livestock or poultry;
(d) the raising or keeping of fur bearing animals, within the meaning of the Fur Farm Act, by a person licensed to do so under that Act;
(f) dairy farming;
(g) floriculture, including the growing of edible flowers;
(h) production of seeds;
(i) raising or producing prescribed biological control agents;
(k) the raising or keeping of game, within the meaning of the Game Farm Act, by a person licensed to do so under that Act,
but does not include
(l) operating a woodlot or raising or harvesting trees for lumber, fibre or firewood,
(m) raising or keeping race horses, operating a stable, dude ranch, stud farm or riding school,
(n) breeding pets or operating a kennel, or
(o) an office or employment under a person engaged in the business of farming;
"generally accepted accounting principles" means generally accepted accounting principles used in Canada;
(a) a province of Canada, or
(b) a state outside Canada having sovereign power;
"livestock" means cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, mules, asses and includes other animals designated by regulation as livestock;
"loans and advances made by the partnership or joint venture to corporations" includes, in relation to a partnership or joint venture,
(a) accounts receivable, owed to the partnership or joint venture from corporations, that became receivables more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture,
(b) holdbacks receivable, owed to the partnership or joint venture from corporations, that became receivables more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture, and
(c) bonds, debentures, mortgages and similar obligations of corporations acquired by the partnership or joint venture more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture,
but does not include
(d) advances and loans made by the partnership or joint venture to corporations within 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture, or
(e) any amounts provided to or for the benefit of a savings institution by the partnership or joint venture as a result of which the savings institution is or becomes indebted to the partnership or joint venture including
(i) a deposit by the partnership or joint venture with the savings institution, and
(ii) rights held by the partnership or joint venture against the savings institution based on bank paper or similar paper in use by a savings institution other than a bank, including certificates of deposit, bearer deposit notes, swap deposits and banker's acceptances;
"loans and advances to other corporations" includes, in relation to a corporation,
(a) accounts receivable, owed to the corporation from other corporations, that became receivables more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the corporation,
(b) holdbacks receivable, owed to the corporation from other corporations, that became receivables more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the corporation, and
(c) bonds, debentures, mortgages and similar obligations of other corporations acquired by the corporation more than 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the corporation,
but does not include
(d) advances and loans by the corporation to other corporations made within 120 days before the end of the taxation year of the corporation, unless the advances and loans were made by the corporation to an associated corporation, and
(i) each corporation has a permanent establishment in British Columbia, and
(ii) the taxation year of each corporation ends on the same date,
(e) any amounts provided to or for the benefit of a savings institution by the corporation as a result of which the savings institution is or becomes indebted to the corporation including
(i) a deposit by the corporation with the savings institution, and
(ii) rights held by the corporation against the savings institution based on bank paper or similar paper in use by a savings institution other than a bank, including certificates of deposit, bearer deposit notes, swap deposits and banker's acceptances, or
(f) advances and loans made by the corporation as part of a series of loans and repayments intended to unduly or artificially reduce the corporation's adjusted paid up capital;
"net B.C. paid up capital" means the result obtained by subtracting the aggregate amount of the deductions, if any, made by a corporation under section 13 from the corporation's B.C. paid up capital;
"net paid up capital" means the result obtained by subtracting the deduction, if any, made by a corporation under section 11 from the corporation's total paid up capital;
"net paid up capital employed in Canada" means the net paid up capital employed in Canada as computed under section 14;
"nonresident" means not resident in Canada;
"operating lease" means a lease that is, under generally accepted accounting principles, considered to be an operating lease;
"permanent establishment" means a permanent establishment as determined under section 2;
"poultry" means domestic fowl, guinea fowl, ostriches, quails and pheasants and includes other creatures designated by regulation as poultry;
"property" means property of any kind and includes
(a) a right to or interest in property,
(c) a chose in action, and
" purchase money security interest" has the same meaning as in the Personal Property Security Act;
" resident in Canada" means resident in Canada for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"return" means a return in the form established by the minister;
"share" means a share of the capital stock of a corporation;
"subsidiary controlled corporation" means a corporation more than 50% of the issued share capital of which, having full voting rights under all circumstances, belongs to the corporation to which it is subsidiary;
"tax" includes all penalties and interest that are, or may be, added to the tax under this Act;
"tax payable" by a corporation includes the tax payable by the corporation as fixed by assessment or reassessment or varied on appeal, in accordance with this Act;
"total paid up capital" means the result obtained by subtracting the aggregate amount of the deductions, if any, made by a corporation under section 10 from the corporation's aggregate paid up capital;
"trade accounts payable" in respect of a corporation, partnership or joint venture means amounts owing by the corporation, partnership or joint venture to a creditor for the purchase of merchandise, supplies or services from that creditor in the normal course of business of the corporation, partnership or joint venture;
"trust company" means a trust company as defined in the Financial Institutions Act or the B.C. Community Financial Services Corporation established under the Community Financial Services Act, and includes
(a) an extraprovincial trust corporation as defined in the Financial Institutions Act, and
(b) a corporation that is a subsidiary of a bank and is a loan company to which the Trust and Loan Companies Act (Canada) applies.
(2) Despite any other enactment, but subject to section 4, this Act applies to a government corporation as defined in section 1 of the Financial Administration Act.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation has an interest in any partnership or joint venture in which it, or a partnership or a joint venture in which it has an interest, is a partner in the partnership or a participant in the joint venture.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation is associated with another corporation at the end of the first mentioned corporation's taxation year if the corporations were, at any time during that taxation year, associated corporations.
2 (1) In this section:
"corporation" includes a partnership or joint venture;
"fixed place of business" includes a branch, a mine, an oil well, a farm, a timberland, a factory, a workshop, a warehouse, an office and an agency.
(2) A corporation that has a fixed place of business has a permanent establishment at that place.
(3) A corporation that has no fixed place of business has a permanent establishment at the principal place in which the corporation's business is conducted.
(4) A corporation that does not otherwise have a permanent establishment in Canada has a permanent establishment at each of the following:
(a) the place, if any, designated as its head office in
(i) its charter, or
(ii) any other record or resolution by which the designation of a head office for the corporation can be effectively made;
(b) the place, if any, designated as its registered office in
(i) its charter, or
(ii) any other record or resolution by which the designation of a registered office for the corporation can be effectively made.
(5) If a corporation carries on business through an employee or agent, established in a particular place, who has general authority to contract for the employer or principal or who has a stock of merchandise owned by the employer or principal from which the employee or agent regularly fills orders that the employee or agent receives, the corporation is deemed to have a permanent establishment at that place.
(6) A corporation that uses substantial machinery or substantial equipment in a particular place at any time has a permanent establishment at that place.
(7) A corporation, otherwise having a permanent establishment in Canada, that owns land in a province is deemed to have a permanent establishment on that land.
(8) A nonresident corporation is deemed to have a permanent establishment at any place in Canada where it grows, mines, creates, manufactures, fabricates, improves, packs, preserves or constructs anything, in whole or in part, whether or not the nonresident corporation exports that thing without selling it before export.
(9) The fact that a corporation has business dealings through a commission agent, broker or other independent agent does not by itself mean that the corporation has a permanent establishment.
(10) The fact that a corporation has
(a) a subsidiary controlled corporation at a place, or
(b) a subsidiary controlled corporation engaged in a trade or business at a place
does not by itself mean that the first mentioned corporation has a permanent establishment at that place.
(11) The fact that a corporation maintains an office solely for the purchase of merchandise does not by itself mean that the corporation has a permanent establishment at that office.
(12) If a partnership or a joint venture has a permanent establishment at a place, a corporation that has an interest in the partnership or joint venture is deemed to have a permanent establishment at that place.
3 (1) A corporation that is a bank, trust company or credit union must, for each taxation year that the corporation has or had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, pay to the government a tax in an amount equal to 3% of the adjusted paid up capital of that corporation in that taxation year if the corporation has, at the end of that taxation year, net paid up capital of more than $750 million.
(2) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), a corporation that is a bank, trust company or credit union must, for each taxation year that the corporation has or had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, pay to the government a tax in an amount equal to 1% of the adjusted paid up capital of that corporation in that taxation year if the corporation has, at the end of that taxation year, net paid up capital of $750 million or less and
(a) the corporation has net paid up capital of $1 500 000 or more, or
(b) the corporation is one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net paid up capital that, when added to the net paid up capital of every corporation with which it is associated, totals $1 500 000 or more.
(3) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), a corporation that is not a bank, trust company or credit union must, for each taxation year that the corporation has or had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, pay to the government a tax in an amount equal to 0.3% of the adjusted paid up capital of that corporation in that taxation year if, at the end of that taxation year,
(a) the corporation has net paid up capital of $1 500 000 or more, or
(b) the corporation is one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net paid up capital that, when added to the net paid up capital of every corporation with which it is associated, totals $1 500 000 or more.
(4) If a corporation is one of 2 or more associated corporations, the amounts of net paid up capital of the associated corporations that are to be added together for the purposes of subsection (2) (b) or (3) (b) must be computed by using the taxation year for each of the associated corporations ending in the same calendar year.
(5) For the purposes of determining whether a corporation referred to in section 14 (2) is subject to tax under this section, the corporation must compute its net paid up capital on the same basis as if it were resident in Canada.
(6) If a corporation is, under this section, required to pay a tax, this section imposes that tax on that corporation.
(7) A corporation that is subject to tax under subsection (2) or (3) must, for each taxation year in which the corporation has or had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, pay to the government,
(a) if, at the end of that taxation year, the corporation is not one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net B.C. paid up capital of $250 000 or more but less than $1 500 000, a tax in the amount of $500, or
(b) if, at the end of that taxation year, the corporation is one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net B.C. paid up capital that, when added to the net B.C. paid up capital of every corporation with which it is associated, totals $250 000 or more but less than $1 500 000, a tax in an amount equal to the corporation's proportionate share of $500.
(8) A corporation that is subject to tax under subsection (2) or (3) must, for each taxation year in which the corporation has or had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, pay to the government,
(a) if, at the end of that taxation year, the corporation is not one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net B.C. paid up capital of less than $250 000, a tax in an amount equal to the lesser of
(i) the product obtained by multiplying the adjusted paid up capital of the corporation by 1%, if the corporation is a bank, trust company or credit union, or by 0.3% for any other corporation, and
(b) if, at the end of that taxation year, the corporation is one of 2 or more associated corporations and has net B.C. paid up capital that, when added to the net B.C. paid up capital of every corporation with which it is associated, totals less than $250 000, a tax in an amount equal to the lesser of
(i) the product obtained by multiplying the adjusted paid up capital of the corporation by 1%, if the corporation is a bank, trust company or credit union, or by 0.3% for any other corporation, and
(ii) the corporation's proportionate share of $250.
(9) For the purposes of subsections (7) and (8), a corporation referred to in subsection (7) (b) or (8) (b) that is to pay its proportionate share of an amount referred to in those subsections must pay the proportion of that amount that its net B.C. paid up capital bears to the aggregate of the net B.C. paid up capital amounts of the corporation and its associated corporations.
(10) The amounts of net B.C. paid up capital of the associated corporations that are to be added together for the purposes of subsections (7) and (8) must be computed by using the taxation year for the associated corporations ending in the same calendar year.
4 (1) If, in a taxation year of a corporation, the corporation's total taxable income, determined for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada), is exempt from income tax under section 149 (1) or 149.1 of that Act, then, subject to subsection (2), that corporation is exempt from the tax under this Act for that taxation year.
(2) The exemption under subsection (1) does not apply to Crown corporations designated by regulation.
(3) The following corporations are exempt from the tax under this Act:
(a) the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia;
(b) an insurance company as defined in the Financial Institutions Act;
(c) an extraprovincial insurance corporation as defined in the Financial Institutions Act;
(d) a corporation, other than one described in paragraphs (a) to (c), that carries on the business of an insurer and is designated by regulation;
(e) British Columbia Central Credit Union;
(f) a mortgage investment corporation as defined in section 130.1 (6) of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
(g) a housing cooperative as defined in section 80 of the Cooperative Association Act;
(h) a bankrupt corporation from the date of its bankruptcy for so long as it remains a bankrupt;
(i) an apartment corporation;
(j) a family farm corporation;
(k) a cooperative corporation.
5 (1) If a corporation has a taxation year of more or less than 365 days, the tax payable under this Act by the corporation for that taxation year is equal to that proportion of the tax otherwise payable under this Act for the taxation year that the number of days in the taxation year bears to 365 or, in a leap year, 366.
(2) If a corporation ceases to have a permanent establishment in British Columbia during a taxation year, the taxation year is deemed to consist of the number of days in the year during which the corporation had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, and subsection (1) applies to that taxation year.
(3) If a corporation begins having a permanent establishment in British Columbia during a taxation year, the taxation year is deemed to consist of the number of days in the year during which the corporation had a permanent establishment in British Columbia, and subsection (1) applies to that taxation year.
(4) If a corporation has a taxation year part of which is before April 1, 1992 and part of which is after March 31, 1992, the tax payable under this Act is equal to that proportion of the tax otherwise payable under this Act that the number of days in the taxation year after March 31, 1992 bears to the number of days in the taxation year.
6 (1) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), "corporation" includes a partnership or joint venture.
(2) The taxation year of a corporation for the purposes of this Act coincides with its taxation year, or deemed taxation year, under the Income Tax Act (Canada).
(3) If a corporation's taxation year, or deemed taxation year, under the Income Tax Act (Canada) changes, or is deemed to change or to have changed, in any way because of the operation of that Act, then the corporation's taxation year for the purposes of this Act is deemed to change, or to have changed, at the same time, in the same manner and to the same extent.
(4) If a corporation changes its taxation year, the corporation must advise the administrator of the new taxation year within 30 days after the change.
7 (1) The aggregate paid up capital of a bank, trust company or credit union means the aggregate of the amounts, computed at the end of its taxation year, of its
(a) capital stock,
(b) contributed surplus,
(c) retained earnings, and
(d) proportionate share, as computed under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (c), if any, that are applicable to each of the partnerships or joint ventures in which the bank, trust company or credit union has an interest.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the capital stock of a credit union does not include its non-equity shares as defined by the Financial Institutions Act.
8 The aggregate paid up capital of a corporation that is registered or licensed under the laws of a province to trade in securities means the aggregate of the amounts, computed at the end of its taxation year, of its
(a) capital stock,
(b) retained earnings, contributed surplus and any other surpluses,
(c) deferred credit,
(d) subordinate indebtedness, and
(e) proportionate share, as computed under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (a) and (c), if any, that are applicable to each of the partnerships or joint ventures in which the corporation has an interest.
9 The aggregate paid up capital of a corporation that is not a bank, a trust company, a credit union or a corporation described in section 8 or 14 (2), means the aggregate of the amounts, computed at the end of its taxation year, of its
(a) capital stock,
(b) retained earnings, contributed surplus and any other surpluses,
(c) liabilities, whether secured or unsecured, including any deferred credit but excluding current accounts payable, and
(d) proportionate share, as computed under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (a) to (c), if any, that are applicable to each of the partnerships or joint ventures in which the corporation has an interest.
10 There may be deducted from the aggregate paid up capital of a corporation to which section 14 (2) does not apply, at the end of its taxation year,
(a) the corporation's negative retained earnings, if any,
(b) in the case of a corporation other than a corporation referred to in section 7, the corporation's deferred tax debit, if any, to the extent that the deferred tax debit is recorded in its financial statements,
(c) in the case of a corporation that is solely engaged in exploration for a mineral resource, petroleum or natural gas and has incurred exploration costs that have not been written off to retained earnings, those exploration costs to the extent that they are not deducted under section 13 in the year in which the deduction under this paragraph is taken, and
(d) in the case of a corporation that has an interest in a partnership or joint venture, the corporation's proportionate share, as computed under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (k), if any, that are applicable to each of the partnerships or joint ventures in which the corporation has an interest.
11 (1) In this section, "total assets" , in relation to a corporation, means the aggregate of the carrying values of the corporation's assets on its balance sheet at the end of its taxation year, prepared using generally accepted accounting principles other than the equity method of accounting, and includes
(a) the amount by which the carrying value of an asset has been reduced by a liability or deferred credit, and
(b) if the corporation has an interest in a partnership or joint venture, the proportionate share, within the meaning of section 16 (2), of the aggregate of the carrying values of the partnership or joint venture assets on the partnership's or joint venture's balance sheet at the end of the taxation year that falls within the corporation's taxation year in respect of which the accounting is made,
but does not include
(c) the carrying value of the corporation's investment in any partnership or joint venture referred to in paragraph (b).
(2) There may be deducted from the total paid up capital of a corporation that is not a bank, a trust company, a credit union or a corporation described in section 8 or 14 (2), at the end of the corporation's taxation year, an investment allowance equal to the proportion of the total paid up capital that the carrying value of the following investments bears to the total assets of the corporation:
(a) the corporation's investments in shares of other corporations;
(b) the corporation's net investments, as lessor, in capital leases to other corporations other than savings institutions;
(c) loans and advances to other corporations;
(d) dividends receivable from corporations other than savings institutions;
(e) subject to subsection (3), the amount that represents the carrying value of the corporation's investment, if any, in a ship or aircraft;
(f) to the extent that these are not otherwise deducted under this Act,
(i) the interest held by the corporation as beneficiary of a mining reclamation trust within the meaning of section 248 (1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), and
(ii) any security posted by the corporation under section 10 of the Mines Act that is not deducted under subparagraph (i);
(g) the corporation's proportionate share, as computed under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (d) to (i), if any, that are applicable to each of the partnerships or joint ventures in which the corporation has an interest.
(3) If a credit union owns shares of another savings institution that has a permanent establishment in British Columbia, other than a savings institution referred to in section 4 (3), there may be deducted from the total paid up capital of the credit union an investment allowance equal to the proportion of the total paid up capital that the carrying value of those shares in the other savings institution bears to the total assets of the credit union.
(4) An investment referred to in subsection (2) (e) must not be deducted under subsection (2) unless the income for the taxation year earned from the operation of the ship or aircraft is exempt under section 81 (1) (c) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
(5) Despite any other provision of this section, the investment allowance to which a corporation may be entitled under subsection (2) or (3) must not be greater than the aggregate carrying value of the investments referred to in this section that are made by the corporation.
12 (1) At the end of a taxation year of a corporation to which section 14 (2) does not apply, there may be deducted from the net paid up capital of the corporation, that portion of the net paid up capital that is allocated to jurisdictions outside British Columbia in accordance with prescribed rules.
(2) If a corporation is, at the end of an applicable taxation year, a nonresident corporation to which section 14 (2) applies, there may be deducted from the net paid up capital employed in Canada of the corporation, at the end of that taxation year, that portion of the net paid up capital employed in Canada that is allocated to Canadian jurisdictions other than British Columbia in accordance with prescribed rules.
13 (1) In this section:
"acquire" includes obtain, as lessee, under a capital lease;
"B.C. development expenditure" has the same meaning that "Canadian development expense" in section 66.2 (5) (a) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) would have if
(a) the references in that provision to "Canada" and "taxpayer" were read as references to "British Columbia" and "corporation", and
(b) sections 66 (10.2), (12.62) and (12.63) and 66.2 (5) (a) (iii) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) were disregarded;
"B.C. exploration expenditure" has the same meaning that "Canadian exploration expense" in section 66.1 (6) (a) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) would have if
(a) the reference in that provision to "Canada" and "taxpayer" were read as references to "British Columbia" and "corporation", and
(b) section 66 (10.1), (12.6) and (12.61) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) were disregarded;
"B.C. research expenditure" means an expenditure, made by a corporation in respect of scientific research, that is an expenditure of the type that would be described in section 37 (1) (a) or (b) (ii) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) if the references in those provisions to "Canada" and "the taxpayer" were read as references to "British Columbia" and "corporation";
"eligible expenditure" means the sum of a corporation's
(a) B.C. exploration expenditure,
(b) B.C. development expenditure,
(c) B.C. research expenditure, and
(d) costs incurred in acquiring eligible property and eligible tourism property;
"eligible property" means property acquired by a corporation, if the property
(a) is a building, a portion of a building, machinery or equipment, including any air and water pollution abatement equipment and structures,
(b) was acquired by the corporation after March 31, 1992,
(c) had not been used for any purpose whatever before
(i) it was acquired by the corporation, or
(ii) it was leased by the corporation, as lessor, under an operating lease, and
(d) is, from the date of its acquisition to and including the end of any taxation year in respect of which the corporation claims a deduction under this section,
(i) owned by the corporation, and
(ii) used primarily for one or more of the purposes referred to in subsection (2) (a) to (k) in British Columbia
(A) by the corporation, or
(B) if the corporation leases the property, as lessor, under an operating lease, by the lessee under that lease
but does not include eligible tourism property;
"eligible tourism property" means property acquired by a corporation, if the property
(i) a building, a structure, a portion of a building or structure, machinery or equipment acquired by the corporation after March 31, 1992, or
(ii) changes to land constructed by the corporation after March 31, 1992,
(b) had not been used for any purpose whatever before
(i) it was acquired by the corporation, or
(ii) it was leased by the corporation, as lessor, under an operating lease, and
(c) is, from the date of its acquisition to and including the end of any taxation year in respect of which the corporation claims a deduction under this section,
(i) owned by the corporation, and
(ii) used primarily in prescribed tourism activities in British Columbia
(A) by the corporation, or
(B) if the corporation leases the property, as lessor, under an operating lease, by the lessee under that lease.
(2) Eligible property must be used for the purpose of
(a) manufacturing or processing goods for sale or lease,
(b) exploring or drilling for petroleum or natural gas,
(c) operating a petroleum or natural gas well, extracting petroleum or natural gas from a natural accumulation of petroleum or natural gas or processing heavy crude oil recovered from a natural reservoir in British Columbia to a stage that is not beyond the crude oil stage or its equivalent,
(d) prospecting or exploring for or developing a mineral resource,
(e) extracting minerals from a mineral resource,
(f) logging activities other than road building or transporting logs or logging equipment,
(g) processing ore from a mineral resource to a stage that is not beyond the prime metal stage or its equivalent,
(h) farming or fishing,
(i) storing grain,
(j) extracting and producing industrial minerals, or
(k) producing or processing steam or all-electrical energy for sale.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), there may be deducted from the B.C. paid up capital of a corporation that is not a bank, trust company or credit union, at the end of its taxation year, the amounts of the following eligible expenditures to the extent that they are not written off to retained earnings:
(a) for the first taxation year ending after March 31, 1992, the eligible expenditure incurred by the corporation between March 31, 1992 and the end of that taxation year, multiplied by the ratio that the total number of days in the taxation year bears to the number of days in the taxation year after March 31, 1992;
(b) for each taxation year, other than the taxation year referred to in paragraph (a), ending on or before March 31, 1994, the eligible expenditure incurred by the corporation during that taxation year;
(c) for each taxation year ending after March 31, 1994, the aggregate of
(i) the eligible expenditure incurred by the corporation during its current taxation year, and
(ii) the eligible expenditure incurred by the corporation in its immediately preceding taxation year, excluding the cost incurred in that immediately preceding taxation year to acquire eligible property or eligible tourism property, if that eligible property or eligible tourism property is not, from the date of its acquisition to and including the end of the taxation year for which the deduction is claimed, owned by the corporation claiming the deduction and used, in British Columbia, by the corporation or, if leased by the corporation, as lessor, under an operating lease, by the lessee, primarily for one of the following:
(A) in the case of eligible property, the purposes set out in subsection (2);
(B) in the case of eligible tourism property, prescribed tourism activities;
(d) for each taxation year of the corporation in which the corporation has an interest in a partnership or joint venture, the corporation's proportionate share, as determined under section 16 (2), of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in section 16 (1) (j), if any, that are applicable to each partnership or joint venture in which the corporation has an interest.
(4) A corporation must not take a deduction with respect to an eligible expenditure under this section in a taxation year if
(a) a deduction, under this section or section 10, with respect to the eligible expenditure has already been taken in the taxation year,
(b) a deduction with respect to the eligible expenditure has been or will be taken by another corporation in any taxation year,
(c) the eligible expenditure was made to acquire eligible property or eligible tourism property, which eligible property or eligible tourism property has been leased by way of an operating lease on more than one occasion, or
(d) the corporation has not filed with the administrator a schedule in the prescribed form.
14 (1) In this section:
"Canadian assets" means, in respect of a corporation that is a nonresident at the end of an applicable taxation year,
(a) assets of the corporation that are used or held by the corporation during that taxation year, for or in relation to any business carried on by the corporation through a permanent establishment in Canada during that taxation year, and
(b) the corporation's proportionate share, within the meaning of section 16 (2), of the assets of any partnership or joint venture in which the corporation has an interest that are used or held by the partnership or joint venture for or in relation to any business carried on by it through a permanent establishment in Canada in the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture that ends in the applicable taxation year;
"corporation's current accounts payable" includes, for a corporation that has an interest in a partnership or joint venture, the corporation's proportionate share, within the meaning of section 16 (2), of the current accounts payable of the partnership or joint venture as at the end of the taxation year of the partnership or joint venture that ends in the applicable taxation year.
(2) Unless subsection (3) applies, the net paid up capital employed in Canada of a corporation that is a nonresident at the end of the applicable taxation year and that carried on business through a permanent establishment in Canada in that taxation year is the greater of
(a) the product obtained by multiplying the corporation's taxable income earned in Canada in the taxation year, as determined under the Income Tax Act (Canada), by 12.5, and
(b) the amount, if any, by which the aggregate of the carrying values of the corporation's Canadian assets, as at the end of the applicable taxation year, exceeds the aggregate of
(i) the amount of the corporation's current accounts payable at the end of the applicable taxation year that may reasonably be regarded as relating to any business carried on by the corporation through a permanent establishment in Canada during the applicable taxation year, and
(ii) the deductions that the corporation would have been permitted to take under sections 10 (c) and 11 if
(A) the corporation were resident in Canada, and
(B) the only assets of the corporation were those of its Canadian assets that pertain exclusively to its permanent establishments in Canada.
(3) A corporation's net paid up capital employed in Canada for an applicable taxation year must be computed in accordance with sections 7 to 11 if
(a) the corporation is a nonresident at the end of the applicable taxation year, and
(b) the business of the corporation was, throughout the applicable taxation year, carried on solely in Canada.
15 (1) Unless subsection (2) applies, there may be deducted from the net B.C. paid up capital of a corporation at the end of its taxation year, if the net B.C. paid up capital of the corporation is an amount that is $1 500 000 or more but does not exceed $1 750 000, the appropriate further deduction shown below:
NET B.C. PAID UP CAPITAL
| Exceeds | But Does Not Exceed | Deduction |
| $1 499 999 | $1 525 000 | $1 333 000 |
| 1 525 000 | 1 550 000 | 1 199 000 |
| 1 550 000 | 1 575 000 | 1 065 000 |
| 1 575 000 | 1 600 000 | 931 000 |
| 1 600 000 | 1 625 000 | 797 000 |
| 1 625 000 | 1 650 000 | 663 000 |
| 1 650 000 | 1 675 000 | 529 000 |
| 1 675 000 | 1 700 000 | 395 000 |
| 1 700 000 | 1 725 000 | 261 000 |
| 1 725 000 | 1 750 000 | 127 000 |
(2) If 2 or more corporations are associated corporations and the aggregate of the net B.C. paid up capital amounts of those corporations is $1 500 000 or more but does not exceed $1 750 000, each of the associated corporations may deduct from its net B.C. paid up capital at the end of its taxation year its proportionate share of the deduction amount that would be available, under subsection (1), to a corporation that had, as its net B.C. paid up capital, the aggregate amount of the net B.C. paid up capital amounts referred to in this subsection.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a corporation's proportionate share of the deduction amount referred to in that subsection is the proportion of that deduction amount that the corporation's net B.C. paid up capital bears to the aggregate amount of the net B.C. paid up capital amounts referred to in that subsection.
16 (1) Despite section 17 (5), a corporation that has an interest in a partnership or a joint venture must include its proportionate share of the following partnership or joint venture amounts when computing its adjusted paid up capital:
(a) subordinate indebtedness if the corporation is an investment dealer within the meaning of section 8;
(b) liabilities, whether secured or unsecured, including any deferred credit but excluding
(i) current accounts payable,
(ii) amounts payable by the partnership or joint venture to the corporation or to other corporations that have an interest in the partnership or joint venture, and
(iii) amounts payable by the partnership or joint venture to corporations that have a permanent establishment in British Columbia and are associated with the corporation;
(c) accumulated earnings or losses of the partnership or joint venture since the date the corporation acquired an interest in the partnership or joint venture;
(d) investments of the partnership or joint venture in shares of corporations;
(e) the partnership's or joint venture's net investments as lessor in capital leases to corporations other than savings institutions;
(f) loans and advances made by the partnership or joint venture to corporations;
(g) dividends receivable by the partnership or joint venture from corporations other than savings institutions;
(h) subject to section 11 (4), the amount that represents the carrying value of the partnership's or joint venture's investment, if any, in a ship or aircraft;
(i) an amount equal to the security posted by the partnership or joint venture under section 10 of the Mines Act;
(j) expenditures of the partnership or joint venture that would be eligible expenditures under section 13 if the partnership or joint venture were a corporation;
(k) deductions taken by the partnership or joint venture that would be deductions under section 10 (c) if the partnership or joint venture were a corporation.
(2) A corporation's proportionate share of the partnership or joint venture amounts referred to in subsection (1) must be computed on the same basis that the corporation's share of the income from the partnership or joint venture is computed.
(3) The partnership or joint venture amounts of which a corporation must account for its proportionate share under this Act are those amounts referred to in subsection (1) that are disclosed, as at the following dates, by the non-consolidated financial statements of the partnership or joint venture, using generally accepted accounting principles other than the equity method of accounting:
(a) if the partnership or joint venture has a taxation year end that falls within the corporation's taxation year in respect of which the computation of the corporation's adjusted paid up capital is made, as at the end of that taxation year of the partnership or joint venture;
(b) if there is no taxation year end of the partnership or joint venture that falls within that taxation year of the corporation, as at the taxation year end of the partnership or joint venture immediately preceding that taxation year of the corporation.
17 (1) In this section:
"avoidance transaction" means a transaction
(a) that, but for this section, would result, directly or indirectly, in a tax benefit, or
(b) that is part of a series of transactions, which series, but for this section, would result, directly or indirectly, in a tax benefit,
but does not include a transaction that may reasonably be considered
(c) to have been undertaken or arranged primarily for bona fide purposes other than one or both of the following:
(i) to obtain the tax benefit;
(ii) to reduce, avoid or defer a tax or other amount payable as tax or in respect of tax under any other federal or provincial Act or increase a refund of tax or other amount in respect of tax under any other federal or provincial Act, or
(d) to be a transaction that would not result, directly or indirectly, in a misuse of the provisions of this Act or an abuse having regard to the provisions of this Act, other than this section, read as a whole;
"tax benefit" means a reduction, avoidance or deferral of tax or other amount payable under this Act or an increase in a refund of tax or other amount under this Act;
"tax consequences" to a corporation means the adjusted paid up capital or the tax or other amount payable by, or refundable to, the corporation under this Act, or any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of computing that amount;
"transaction" includes an arrangement or event.
(2) If a transaction is an avoidance transaction, the tax consequences to a corporation must be determined in a manner that is reasonable in the circumstances in order to deny a tax benefit that, but for this section, would result, directly or indirectly, from that transaction or from a series of transactions that includes that transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2),
(a) any deduction in computing the adjusted paid up capital or any deduction in computing tax payable may be allowed or disallowed in whole or in part,
(b) the whole or any part of that deduction may be allocated to any corporation,
(c) the nature of any payment or other amount may be recharacterized, and
(d) the tax effects that would otherwise result from the application of other provisions of this Act may be ignored,
in determining the tax consequences to a corporation in a manner that is reasonable in the circumstances in order to deny a tax benefit that would, but for this section, result, directly or indirectly, from an avoidance transaction.
(4) The tax consequences to any corporation, following the application of this section, must only be determined through a notice of assessment under section 28.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation must determine its adjusted paid up capital on the basis of its non-consolidated financial statements using generally accepted accounting principles other than the equity method of accounting.
18 (1) A corporation that is subject to tax under this Act must, on or before the date that is 184 days after the end of the corporation's taxation year, and without notice or demand,
(a) deliver a return to the administrator, and
(b) pay to the minister the estimated tax or, if installment payments have been made under section 19, the difference between the estimated tax and the amount paid by installments.
(2) The return must
(a) contain an estimate of the tax payable, and
(b) be verified by a certificate, signed by a person qualified under subsection (3), certifying that the financial statements included in the return, or attached, are in agreement with the books of the corporation.
(3) The following persons are qualified to sign the certificate under subsection (2):
(a) the president or another officer of the corporation having personal knowledge of the affairs of the corporation;
(b) in the case of an extraprovincial company as defined in the Company Act, the manager or chief agent of the corporation in British Columbia.
(4) A corporation may apply to the administrator for permission to extend the time under subsection (1), and if the administrator is satisfied of the circumstances, the administrator may extend the time.
(5) Any extension of the time under subsection (4) does not constitute a waiver of liability for the tax, or for any penalties and interest imposed under this Act.
(6) If a corporation fails or neglects to comply with subsection (1) (b), the corporation must pay interest on the amount it failed or neglected to pay calculated from the date on which the payment was required until the date that the payment plus all accrued interest is made.
19 (1) A corporation whose tax payable under this Act exceeds $3 000 must pay installments in accordance with this section on account of its tax payable for the current taxation year.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a corporation must, on or before the 15th day of each of the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th calendar months to follow the calendar month in which the corporation's current taxation year begins, pay an installment equal to 25% of the amount that is determined under subsection (4) to be its estimated tax payable for the current taxation year.
(3) A corporation otherwise required by subsection (2) to make an installment during the period April 1, 1992 to August 31, 1992 inclusive must defer that installment and include it with the next installment due under subsection (2).
(4) A corporation must determine its estimated tax payable, by using either of the following methods:
(a) by multiplying the tax payable by the corporation for its taxation year immediately preceding the current taxation year by the ratio that 365 bears to the number of days in that preceding taxation year;
(b) by estimating the amount.
(5) For the first taxation year ending after March 31, 1992, the estimated tax payable calculated under subsection (4) (a) must be adjusted by multiplying the estimated tax payable by the ratio that the number of days in the current taxation year after March 31, 1992 bears to 365.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (4) (a), the tax payable by a corporation for its taxation year immediately preceding the current taxation year must be computed the same way as would have been required if at all material times
(a) this Act had been in force, and
(b) the tax had been annualized on the basis of 365 days in a taxation year or 366 days in a taxation year affected by a leap year.
(7) A corporation that does not pay an installment within the time limits in subsection (2) must pay interest on the amount of the installment calculated
(a) from the time the installment became due until payment is made, or
(b) if the installment is not paid by the date by which a return must be filed under section 18, from the time of the installment due date until that date.
(a) a corporation pays an installment on the basis of the estimate permitted by subsection (4) (b), and
(b) the amount of the installment is less than 25% of the corporation's tax payable for the current taxation year,
the corporation must pay interest on the amount of the difference calculated from the installment due date until the date by which the return must be filed under section 18.
(9) Even though this Act was not in force before April 1, 1992, a corporation that pays an installment on the basis of the calculation permitted by subsection (4) (a) must provide to the administrator all the information necessary to verify the calculation.
(10) The administrator may order a corporation to make installments of the taxes required in subsections (2) and (4) if
(a) the corporation estimates its tax payable for a taxation year at less than $3 000, and
(b) the administrator believes that the tax payable exceeds $3 000.
(11) A corporation that is ordered under subsection (10) to make installments of the taxes required in subsections (2) and (4) must make the installments in accordance with the order.
(12) If the aggregate amount of the installments paid by a corporation under this section exceeds the tax payable for the taxation year in respect of which the installments were paid, the amount by which an installment exceeded 25% of the amount of the corporation's tax payable for that taxation year earns interest from the later of the due date of the installment and the date that the overpayment was made.
(13) Interest chargeable or creditable under this Act must be at the prescribed rate and different rates of interest may be prescribed for different purposes.
(14) If a corporation's estimated tax payable determined under subsection (4) exceeds a prescribed amount, the administrator may order the corporation to enter into an arrangement that requires the installment payments to be made by electronic means.
20 (1) In this section, "responsible representative" means a person, other than a trustee in bankruptcy, who is an assignee, liquidator, administrator, receiver, receiver-manager or any other like person.
(2) A responsible representative administering, winding up, controlling or otherwise dealing with a property or business of a corporation, before distributing to one or more persons any property over which the responsible representative has control in that capacity, must obtain a certificate from the administrator under this Act, certifying that all of the following amounts have been paid or that security for the payment of the amounts has been accepted by the administrator:
(a) amounts for which the corporation is liable under this Act for the taxation year in which the distribution is made, or any preceding taxation year;
(b) amounts for the payment of which the responsible representative is or can reasonably be expected to become liable as the responsible representative.
(3) A responsible representative, who distributes to one or more persons property over which the responsible representative has control in that capacity without obtaining the certificate required by subsection (2), is personally liable for the payment of the amounts referred to in that subsection to the extent of the value of the property distributed.
(4) The administrator may assess a responsible representative who is personally liable under subsection (3) for the amounts referred to in subsection (2), in the same manner and with the same effect as if the assessment were an assessment of the corporation under sections 22 and 28.
21 If the administrator thinks it necessary or advisable, or suspects that a corporation that has not made a return is liable to assessment, the administrator or a person authorized by the administrator, may make
(a) an independent investigation of the corporation, and
(b) an independent valuation and assessment of the adjusted paid up capital by the corporation.
22 (1) The administrator, or a person authorized by the administrator for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act, may
(a) during normal office hours enter into a place where
(i) a business is carried on,
(ii) anything is done in connection with a business, or
(iii) business records are or should be kept,
and inspect the records that relate or may relate to the amount of tax payable under this Act, and
(b) by registered letter or by a demand served personally, require from any person a return, or any information or additional information, or the production of any records within any reasonable time the administrator or authorized person stipulates, if it is reasonable to make the demand in order to determine the liability or possible liability for tax under this Act.
(2) If a record has been inspected or produced under this section, the person by whom it is inspected or to whom it is produced may make or cause to be made one or more copies, and a document certified by the administrator or the authorized person to be a copy made under this section is evidence of the nature and content of the original.
(3) A person must not obstruct a person doing anything that he or she is authorized by this section to do.
(4) Under this Act, an affidavit by the administrator, or the authorized person referred to in subsection (1), in which are stated the facts necessary to establish
(a) compliance by the administrator or authorized person with this section, or
(b) default by the corporation on which a demand is made
must be admitted as evidence in any court and is proof in the absence of evidence to the contrary of the facts stated.
23 (1) If a person, acting or purporting to act on behalf of a corporation, knowingly or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence in the carrying out of any duty or obligation imposed by or under this Act, has made, or has participated in, assented to or acquiesced in the making of, a statement or omission in a return, certificate, statement or answer filed or made as required by or under this Act or the regulations, with the result described in subsection (2), then the corporation is liable to a penalty of 25% of the amount by which the tax that would have been payable is less than the tax payable by the corporation for the taxation year.
(2) The result referred to in subsection (1), without which the penalty under that subsection does not apply, is that the tax that would have been payable by the corporation for a taxation year, if the tax had been imposed on the basis of the information provided in the return, certificate, statement or answer, is less than the tax payable by the corporation for the taxation year.
24 A person authorized in writing by the administrator may make inquiries he or she considers necessary for ascertaining the tax liability of a corporation, and for the purpose of those inquiries the authorized person has all the protection, powers and authority conferred on commissioners under Part 2 of the Inquiry Act.
25 (1) A corporation must keep adequate records for this Act, and if the records kept by the corporation, in the opinion of the administrator, are inadequate for this Act, the administrator may specify the records to be kept by that corporation.
(2) If the records kept by a corporation, in the opinion of the administrator, are inadequate for this Act, or if a corporation, on the request of the administrator, fails or refuses to produce its records for examination by the administrator, or if a corporation alleges that the records kept by it have been lost or destroyed, the administrator may make his or her own valuation and assessment of the tax liability of the corporation.
26 A person, in whatever capacity, who has information about the tax liability of a corporation, when required to do so by notice from the administrator, must prepare and deliver to the administrator any information required within 30 days after the mailing of the notice.
27 A person who has custody of or control over information or records under this Act must not disclose the information or records to any other person except
(a) in the course of administering or enforcing this or another taxation Act,
(b) in court proceedings relating to this or another taxation Act,
(c) as provided in section 39, 40, 99 or 100 of the Family Relations Act or section 8 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act,
(d) under an agreement that
(i) is between the government and another government,
(ii) relates to the administration or enforcement of taxation enactments, and
(iii) provides for the disclosure of information and records to and the exchange of similar information and records with that other government, or
(e) for the purpose of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada.
28 (1) After examination of a return, the administrator must
(a) verify or alter the amount of the tax payable, and
(b) give a notice of the assessment to the corporation.
(2) If a notice of assessment provided to a corporation under subsection (1) (b) indicates that the amount of tax payable by the corporation is greater than the amount estimated by the corporation in its return, the corporation must pay to the minister the amount by which the corporation's tax payable exceeds the amount estimated by the corporation in its return not later than 29 days after the date on which the notice of assessment is given.
(3) A corporation referred to in subsection (2) must pay interest on the amount by which the corporation's tax payable exceeds the amount estimated by the corporation in its return, calculated from the date that is 184 days after the end of the corporation's taxation year to and including the date on which payment of that amount plus all accrued interest is made.
29 (1) Despite prior assessments, or if no assessment has been made, a corporation continues to be liable for any tax due under this Act, and the administrator, at any time, may
(a) assess or reassess any corporation for a tax, or
(b) make additional tax assessments against a corporation.
(2) An assessment, reassessment or additional assessment under subsection (1) may be made
(a) at any time, if any person has made any misrepresentation or committed any fraud in making the return or supplying information under this Act, and
(b) within 6 years from the date of delivery of a return for a taxation year, in any other case.
30 (1) If the examination of a return discloses that an overpayment has been made by a corporation, the minister, on the certificate of the administrator about the facts, must refund the overpaid amount to the corporation from the consolidated revenue fund.
(2) If the examination of a return discloses that any further tax payable by a corporation referred to in subsection (1) is due or accruing due, any overpayment must be applied in satisfaction of that further tax, and notice must be given to the corporation, accompanied by the refund of any remainder of the overpayment remaining unapplied.
31 (1) A notice of assessment under this Act must be in writing, and is sufficiently given if delivered to an office of the corporation or to the address of the corporation stated in the last return under this Act or last known to the administrator.
(2) If the address of a corporation is not known to the administrator, the notice of assessment may be given by mailing it to the corporation at the post office nearest to the corporation's permanent establishment.
(3) The notice of assessment, for all purposes of this Act, is deemed to be given on the date it is delivered under subsection (1) or mailed under subsection (2).
(4) Subject to any appeal provided by this Act, the giving of a notice of assessment to a corporation under this Act constitutes assessment of that corporation for the purposes of this Act.
32 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a corporation that objects to the amount at which it is assessed, or considers that it is not liable to taxation, in whole or in part, may personally or by its agents, within 60 days after the date of mailing the notice of assessment provided for in this Act, or within 60 days after the date of filing the return, serve a notice of an appeal to the minister by mailing it by registered mail addressed to the minister at the Parliament Buildings at Victoria, British Columbia.
(2) The notice must
(a) state the name and address of the corporation, the amount of the tax and the date of the notice of assessment, if any, and
(b) set out clearly and fully the reasons for the appeal and the facts on which it is based.
(3) On receiving the notice of appeal, the minister must
(a) consider it and the information and documents on file in the office of the administrator,
(b) decide the matter, and
(c) notify the appellant of the decision.
33 (1) A decision of the minister under section 32 (3) may be appealed to the Supreme Court by way of an originating application.
(2) The Rules of Court relating to originating applications apply, but Rule 49 does not apply.
(3) A petition must be filed in the court registry within 60 days after the date on the minister's notification of decision.
(4) In the petition the government must be designated "Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia".
(5) Within 14 days after the filing of the petition under subsection (3), the petition must be served on the government in accordance with section 8 of the Crown Proceeding Act.
(6) The court may dismiss the appeal, allow the appeal, vary the decision from which the appeal is made or refer the decision back to the administrator for reconsideration.
(7) An appeal lies from a decision of the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal with leave of a justice of the Court of Appeal.
34 An assessment must not be varied or disallowed because of any irregularity, informality, omission or error on the part of any person in the observation of any directory provision up to the date of the issuing of the notice of assessment.
35 (1) Neither the giving of a notice of appeal by any corporation nor any delay in the hearing of the appeal in any way
(a) affects the date for payment, the interest or penalties or any liability for payment provided by this Act for tax that is the subject matter of the appeal, or
(b) delays the collection of the tax.
(2) If the tax is set aside or reduced on appeal, the minister must refund to the corporation
(a) the amount of the tax or excess paid by the corporation, and
(b) the amount of any additional interest or penalty imposed and paid on that tax or excess.
36 (1) The tax imposed or assessed under this Act
(a) is a lien and charge in favour of the government on the entire assets of the corporation, or the entire assets of the corporation in the hands of a trustee, effective as of the end of the taxation year of the corporation for which the tax is imposed, and
(b) has priority over all other claims of every person except claims secured by liens, charges or encumbrances registered before that date.
(2) The liens and charges created by this section and their priority are not lost or impaired by any of the following:
(a) the neglect, omission or error of the administrator or any agent or person acting under the administrator;
(b) the taking or failing to take proceedings to recover the tax;
(c) the tender or acceptance of any partial payment of the tax;
(d) want of registration.
37 Before taking any proceedings for the recovery of the tax under this Act, the administrator must give notice to the corporation of the intention to enforce payment, but failure to give notice does not affect the validity of any enforcement proceedings taken.
38 The amount of the tax due and payable may be recovered by action in a court as a debt due to the government.
39 (1) If default is made in the payment of all or part of tax that is due and payable, the administrator may
(a) issue his or her certificate stating that the tax is due, the amount remaining unpaid, including interest and penalties, and the name of the corporation required to pay it, and
(b) file the certificate with the Supreme Court.
(2) A certificate filed under subsection (1) (b) is of the same effect, and proceedings may be taken, as if it were a judgment of the Supreme Court for the recovery of a debt in the amount stated against the person named.
40 (1) If the administrator has knowledge or suspects that a person is or is about to become indebted or liable to make a payment to a corporation, the administrator may demand that the person pay all or part of the money otherwise payable to the corporation to the minister on account of the corporation's liability under this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), if the administrator has knowledge or suspects that a person is about to advance money to, make a payment on behalf of, or make a payment in respect of a negotiable instrument issued by, a corporation, the administrator may demand that that person pay to the minister on account of the corporation's liability under this Act the money that would otherwise be so advanced or paid.
(3) If, under this section, the administrator demands that a person pay to the minister, on account of the liability under this Act of a corporation, money otherwise payable by that person to the corporation as interest, rent, remuneration, a dividend, an annuity or other periodic payment, the demand
(a) applies to all of those payments to be made by the person to the corporation until the liability under this Act is satisfied, and
(b) operates to require payments to the administrator out of each payment of the amount stipulated by the administrator in the demand.
(4) Money or a beneficial interest in money in a savings institution
(a) on deposit to the credit of a corporation at the time a demand is served, or
(b) deposited to the credit of a corporation after a demand is served
is money for which the savings institution is indebted to the corporation within the meaning of this section, but money on deposit or deposited to the credit of a corporation as described in paragraph (a) or (b) does not include money on deposit or deposited to the credit of a corporation in its capacity as a trustee.
(5) A demand under this section continues in effect until the earlier of
(a) the demand being satisfied, or
(b) the expiration of 90 days after the demand is mailed or served.
(6) Despite subsection (5), a demand made in respect of a periodic payment referred to in subsection (3) continues in effect until satisfied unless no periodic payment is made or is liable to be made within 90 days after the demand is mailed or served, in which case the demand ceases to have effect on the expiration of that period.
(7) A person who fails to comply with a demand under subsection (1) or (3) is liable to pay to the government an amount equal to the amount that the person was required under subsection (1) or (3), as the case may be, to pay to the minister.
(8) A person who fails to comply with a demand under subsection (2) is liable to pay to the government an amount equal to the lesser of
(a) the aggregate of the money advanced or paid, and
(b) the amount that the person was required under subsection (2) to pay to the minister.
(9) The receipt of the minister for money paid under this section is a good and sufficient discharge of the original liability to the extent of the payment.
(10) Money paid by any person to the minister in compliance with a demand under this section is deemed to have been paid by that person to the corporation in respect of which the demand was made.
(11) If a person carries on business under a name or style other than the person's own name, the demand under subsection (1), (2) or (3) may be addressed to the name or style under which the person carries on business and, in the case of personal service, is deemed to have been validly served if left with an adult person employed at the place of business of the addressee.
(12) If persons carry on business in partnership, the demand under subsection (1), (2) or (3) may be addressed to the partnership name and, in the case of personal service, is deemed to have been validly served if served on one of the partners or left with an adult person employed at the place of business of the partnership.
41 (1) The administrator or the administrator's agent may levy the amount of the tax that is due and payable, with costs, by distress of
(a) the goods and chattels of the corporation liable to pay the tax,
(b) any goods and chattels in that corporation's possession, wherever they may be found in British Columbia, or
(c) any goods and chattels found on that corporation's premises that are the property of or in the possession of any other occupant of the premises and that would be subject to distress for arrears of rent due to a landlord.
(2) The costs of the administrator or the agent of the administrator for a distress under this section are chargeable against the corporation referred to in subsection (1) and are those payable as between landlord and tenant.
(3) If distress is made, the administrator or the administrator's agent, by advertisement posted in at least 3 conspicuous public places in the locality where the sale of the distrained property is to be made, must give at least 10 days' public notice of the time and place of the sale and of the name of the corporation in default.
(4) At the time given in the notice, the administrator or the administrator's agent must sell at public auction the distrained property, or so much of it as may be necessary.
(5) If the distrained property is sold for more than the amount of the tax and costs, and if no claim to the surplus is made by any other person on the ground that the property sold belonged to the person, or that the person was entitled by lien or other right to the surplus, the surplus must be paid over to the person who had possession of the property when the distress was made, and a receipt must be taken.
(6) If a claim is made by the corporation for whose tax the property was distrained, and the claim is admitted, the surplus must be paid to the corporation, and a receipt must be taken.
(7) If the claim is contested, the surplus must be retained by the administrator until the rights of the parties have been determined in court or otherwise.
42 (1) The powers conferred by this Act for the recovery of tax by action in court, by filing a certificate, by distress and by demand may be exercised separately, concurrently or cumulatively.
(2) The liability of a corporation for the payment of the tax under this Act is not affected in any way by the fact that a fine has been paid or a penalty imposed on it for a contravention of this Act.
43 (1) A demand and notice, other than a notice of assessment, authorized or required to be given to a person by a public officer under this Act must be in writing, and is sufficiently given if it is personally delivered to the person, or delivered by registered mail addressed to the address stated in the person's last return or to the last address known to the administrator.
(2) Proof of the receipt by a person of any demand or notice may be established in any court by showing that the notice was delivered or mailed in a manner provided in this section, and the burden of proof is on the person seeking to establish the fact that the demand or notice was not received by the person.
(3) In a prosecution or any proceeding for any matter arising under this Act, the facts necessary to establish
(a) the giving of any demand or notice,
(b) compliance on the part of the administrator or other officer with this Act, or
(c) the failure of any person to comply with this Act,
may be sufficiently proved in any court by the production of an affidavit of the administrator or other person designated by the minister setting out the facts.
44 (1) With the approval of the minister, the administrator may authorize any person acting under the administrator's direction to perform and exercise those duties imposed and powers conferred on the administrator by this Act that the administrator considers may be conveniently performed or exercised by that person.
(2) The performance or exercise of duties or powers by a person authorized under subsection (1) is of the same effect as if they were performed or exercised by the administrator.
45 An information for an offence against this Act must be laid within 6 years from the time when the matter of the information arose.
46 (1) A corporation that fails to deliver a return as and when required by section 18 must pay a penalty of an amount equal to 10% of the tax that was unpaid when the return was required to be delivered.
(2) A corporation that fails to pay the tax due within the period required under sections 18 and 19 must pay a penalty of 10% of the tax that was unpaid.
(3) A corporation that fails to complete the information required on the return to be delivered under section 18 is liable to a penalty of $50.
(4) A corporation referred to in this section must pay any penalty applicable to it whether or not the corporation is also obliged to pay any interest under this Act.
47 (1) Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or to the regulations.
(2) A person who does any of the following commits an offence:
(a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, false or deceptive statements in a return, certificate, statement or answer delivered or made as required by or under this Act or the regulations;
(b) in order to evade payment of the tax imposed by this Act, destroys, alters, mutilates, secrets or otherwise disposes of the records of a corporation;
(c) makes, or assents to or acquiesces in the making of, false or deceptive entries, or omits, or assents to or acquiesces in the omission, to enter a material particular, in the records of a corporation;
(d) willfully in any manner evades or attempts to evade compliance with or payment of tax imposed by this Act;
(e) conspires with any person to commit an offence described in paragraphs (a) to (d).
(3) In addition to any penalty otherwise provided by this Act, a person who commits an offence referred to in subsection (2) is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $10 000 plus, in an appropriate case, an amount of not more than double the amount of the tax that should have been shown to be payable or that was sought to be evaded, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 2 years, or to both a fine and imprisonment.
(4) For every default in complying with section 25, 26, 29 or 30, the persons in default are each liable, on conviction, to a penalty of not less than $10 for each day during which the default continues.
(5) An officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to or acquiesced or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to the offence, but this section does not affect the liability of the corporation for the same offence.
(6) A person who contravenes section 19 (11), 22 (3) or 27 commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not more than $2 000.
48 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations including but not limited to regulations prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed or is to be determined by regulation.
(2) Regulations that may be made under this Act may be made retroactive to April 1, 1992 or such later date as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine, and a regulation made retroactive is deemed to come into force on the date specified on the regulation.