Can “simply having [a] corporate head office on-Reserve, regardless of the nature or location of the business,” be “sufficient to locate any business derived by these corporate entities on-Reserve” so that the income would be exempt under s. 81(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act by reason of section 87 of the Indian Act? No.
“[6] … I agree with [Justice Miller of the TCC] that the application of the connecting factors test to income is a search for a substantive basis for connecting the income to a reserve.”
“[8] Justice Miller found no substantial connection between the operational aspects of the fishing business and any reserve. The fishing boat and fishing equipment were kept off reserve. The extensive preparations required each season occurred off reserve under Mr. Pilfold’s direction as captain of the fishing boat. The fishing took place off reserve under Mr. Pilfold’s direction. All sales were made by Mr. Pilfold to commercial buyers off reserve. The only factual connections between the fishing operation and the reserve were weak or insubstantial: some telephone calls were made from the Musqueam home with respect to equipment repairs, and some trimmings from the roe on kelp harvesting – a relatively small amount – were donated to First Nations.”