Words and Phrases - "therapy"
Hughes v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 42 (Informal Procedure)
The taxpayer applied for the disability tax credit (“DTC”) in respect of her daughter, Gwynneth, in June 2015 using CRA’s form T2201, which included the required certification by Gwynneth’s doctor. The taxpayer’s daughter was born with phenylketonuria (“PKU”). PKU is a lifelong condition for which there remains no cure, only lifelong treatment. If left untreated, a child with PKU can be expected to suffer permanent severe brain damage. CRA issued a notice of determination stating Gwynneth was not eligible for the DTC on the basis that her impairment related to a dietary restriction and her treatment activities consisted of following a dietary regime.
In finding that there was “life‑sustaining therapy” supporting a vital function, Boyle J found (at para 60):
…[A]bsent this therapy Gwynneth would have potentially devastating and irreversible adverse consequences to her proper mental development and functioning. Clearly the brain and its mental functions are vital and its normal functioning is sustained by this therapy.
Boyle J further found that the 14‑hour average requirement in s. 118.3(1)(a.1)(ii) was met, stating (at paras 52 and 54):
The corrected chart … would be 798.5 minutes or 13.3 hours.
…[W]here the average of what is described in the DTC legislation with respect to life‑sustaining therapy, where it would be entirely unreasonable to expect persons to keep time logs of their actual activities on a daily basis for accurate and precise measurement, I would be inclined to think that the concept of significant digits for measuring total average hours is solely whole numbers. On that basis, even without a 5% to 10% increase I have found warranted in this case, I would be inclined to think that anything 13.5 hours or greater estimated with the inherent limitations that the statute clearly contemplates, should satisfy the 14‑hour requirement.
Boyle J further found (at paras 57 and 61):
I conclude that the proper meaning of the word “therapy” (soins thérapeutiques) in the DTC provisions … simply means the care or treatment of a physical or mental condition. …
None of Gwynneth’s treatment related to what can fairly be described as simply a dietary restriction… . [The treatment] … is much more like administering a medication than it is like managing a diet. I agree that this should extend to the time spent determining the amount of Phe to be consumed, determining the amount of Phe actually consumed, and logging the Phe intake.
Mullings v. The Queen, 2017 TCC 133 (Informal Procedure)
The taxpayer’s ability to claim the disability tax credit in respect of her young child, who suffered from an inability to digest a common amino acid (“Phe”), turned on whether she was spending at least 14 hours per week on therapy, which was defined in s. 118.3(1.1)(d) to exclude “time spent on dietary…restrictions or regimes.”
Keeping such a child’s bodily levels of Phe within a narrow range (failing which there will be severe brain damage) requires that “medical formula [food] is given in very precise doses four times a day and administering it is no different from administering any other prescription medication.” Since “measuring and controlling Phe intake is properly characterized as administration of the therapy and not as control of X’s diet,” the time so spent counted towards the 14 hours. The taxpayer was entitled to the credit.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 118.3 - Subsection 118.3(1.1) - Paragraph 118.3(1.1)(d) | time spent administering special “medical formula” foods to a child counted as therapy administration and not as dietary control | 319 |