Taxpayer failed to declare that he had common law spouse

Guaranteed Income Supplement. Taxpayer was informed that he was never eligible for Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) that had been paid to him in addition to his old age pension from November 2011 to February 2015. Amount of GIS that was overpaid to taxpayer was $17,251.70. Taxpayer brought application for judicial review of Minister’s decision. Application dismissed. Minister found that overpayment was not simple administrative error, but was error attributable to taxpayer’s many contradictory statements . Taxpayer failed to declare that he had common law spouse even though he had been living with same partner for thirty years. Taxpayer said that he was separated from partner, but auditor visited taxpayer’s home only to discover that taxpayer was still living with partner, that they still maintained joint account, and that child still lived together with them. Amounts received from benefits received by taxpayer diminished by $144.00 per month, taking into account overpayment of $17,251.70.

Akoun c. Canada (Procureur général) (2019), 2019 CarswellNat 6724, 2019 CF 1362, Luc Martineau J. (F.C.).

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