In the case of Gibson v. The Queen (July 23, 2014 – 2014 TCC 236 ) the Tax Court of Canada held that the taxpayer, a retired psychologist. was entitled to a Disability Tax Credit because of her severe chronic fatigue syndrome.
The Government argued that she did not qualify because her psychiatrist only checked off two of the three requirements on the prescribed form as being required to show a “marked impairment of mental functions necessary for everyday life.”
The Income Tax Act states:
i18.4 (1) For the purposes of subsection 6(16), sections 118.2 and 118.3 and this subsection,
[…]
(c.1) mental functions necessary for everyday life include
(i) memory,
(ii) problem solving, goal-setting and judgement (taken together), and
(iii) adaptive functioning;
The Government submitted that all three impairments described in (c.1)(ii) must be satisfied and since she was capable of “problem-solving”, this was fatal to her claim. The Court disagreed. Justice Woods held that ” the phrase “taken together” in clause (c.1)(ii) implies that one must look at all three mental functions together and decide whether the combination results in a severe impairment.”
The Judge was also critical of the forms that the CRA uses to determine an applicant’s eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit. The Judge said “ I would also note that the CRA forms have their shortcomings and it is appropriate to take this into account. For example, the prescribed form is in a check-the-box format. This may be a practical way for the CRA to obtain information, but it does not give a very accurate picture in some cases. Taxpayers should not be denied tax relief simply because the questions in the prescribed form do not neatly fit the circumstances.”
The taxpayer represented herself and was the only witness at the hearing.