Employee or Independent Contractor?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - Filed in: Courts
The intention of the parties counts when determining whether it is an employer or contractor relationship.
In Prue v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue) and Smith v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue), the Tax Court of Canada has ruled that the intention of the parties involved can be a significant factor in deciding whether an individual was an employee or an independent contractor. In both cases, in addition to considering the circumstances of the relationship itself, the Court held that it was satisfied that the parties had intended it to be an independent contractor relationship until the individual found it advantageous for tax-related reasons to regard it as employment instead.