Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 60 compiled in the government institution’s records or files, will be information that has been “gathered” for purposes of this provision.168 “Gathered” includes information relating to the taxpayer that is gathered by a government institution without the taxpayer’s positive or consensual involvement, or even knowledge.169 Tax means provincial, municipal, or federal tax. It does not include licence fees, stumpage fees, royalties, municipal development costs charges levied on developments or other fees assessed in relation to a direct benefit received by the party paying the fee.170 On several occasions, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia (BC IPC) has examined issues related to its similarly worded provision in its Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In BC IPC Order F15-19, information pertaining to tax liabilities were ordered disclosed because the information involved aggregate information generated by a government institution in relation to five properties, not information of individual property owners. Had individual records been sought, it is fair to conclude from the following that the information would have been deemed personal information gathered for the purpose of determining tax liability or collecting a tax.171 The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Newfoundland and Labrador found that the information contained on T4s for a town manager, clerk and head of maintenance was gathered for the purpose of determining tax liability172 or collecting a tax.173 As such, it was withheld from the applicant. IPC Findings In Review Report LA-2007-002, an applicant sought the complete tax roll for the Rural Municipality of Edenwold No. 158 (RM). Upon review, the Commissioner found that the record included information about a named individual that was obtained by the RM for the purpose of collecting a tax, namely the property tax enabled by The Rural Municipality Act, 168 BC IPC Order F05-29 at [97]. 169 BC IPC Order F05-29 at [95]. 170 British Columbia Government Services, FOIPPA Policy Definitions at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/policiesprocedures/foippa-manual/policy-definitions. Accessed April 23, 2020. 171 BC IPC Order F15-19 at [28]. See also NFLD IPC Review Report A-2017-002 at [27]. 172 The provision in the NFLD Access to Information Protection of Privacy Act includes “determining tax liability” in its equivalent provision. This is also the case with BC’s provision. 173 NFLD IPC Review Report A-2018-018 at [16].
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