Mr. Mortensen was convicted of tax evasion in respect of some commissions he earned but failed to report. He filed an appeal with the Tax Court, and the Crown responded by bringing a motion to dismiss the appeal. The taxpayer, the Crown argued, shouldn’t be permitted to contest the tax owing and the gross negligence penalties imposed in respect of amounts for which he had been convicted of evasion.
The Court disagreed (Mortensen v. The Queen, 2010 TCC 164):
[16] I have carefully reviewed the decision of Justice C.L. Daniel of the Alberta Provincial Court in R. v. Mortensen, 2004 ABPC 104. In reviewing the decision, I have noted that Justice Daniel did not consider or deal with any of the expenses that may have been incurred by the Appellant when he earned the commission income in 1997 and 1998.