Some or all of the purchase price is often computed based on Target profits for some period following the acquisition. That type of arrangement (often called an earn-out) can help bridge differences in how the parties value Target. However, earn-outs must be approached carefully from a Canadian tax perspective and should be reviewed by Canadian tax counsel.

部分或所有出售价格，通常会按照目标公司在收购之后一定期限内的利润进行计算。该类安排（通常称为或有对价）可帮助弥补双方对目标公司估值的分歧。但从加拿大税务的角度，必须慎重采用或有对价，并且须由加拿大税务律师进行审查。

The principal tax issue associated with earn-outs is that section 12(1)(g) provides that payments based on the use of or production from property, including as an installment of the sale price, are treated as income, not capital gains, to the recipient. That kind of recharacterization is generally quite negative for a seller of Target shares, because:

与或有对价有关的主要税务问题是，在第12(1)(g)条中规定，基于资产的使用或产物的支付款项，包括分期支付出售价格在内，应作为收款人的所得进行处理，而不是资本收益。这种重新定性通常对目标公司股票的出售方非常不利，原因是：

• only 50 percent of capital gains is included in income;

仅有50%的资本收益被包含在收入所得当中；

• capital losses can be used only against capital gains;

资本损失仅能用于抵消资本收益；

• only capital gains can benefit from the QSBC exemption (see Section IV.B, infra); and

仅资本收益可以从合格小企业公司税务减免中获益（见下文第IV.B节）；并且

• nonresident sellers (usually exempt from Canadian capital gains tax) may be subject to Canadian withholding tax under the Part XIII equivalent of section 12(1)(g).

非居民出售方（通常可获得加拿大资本收益税减免）可能需根据与第12(1)(g)条类似的第XIII部分规定，缴纳加拿大预扣税。

Section 12(1)(g) does not affect the tax position of the buyer; the recharacterization is one-sided.

第12(1)(g)条并不影响收购方的课税情况；重新定性是单方面的。

The CRA has a helpful administrative policy on shares sold subject to an earn-out, which allows the seller to use the cost recovery method to report the sale proceeds and to avoid section 12(1)(g). Under that regime, as amounts of the sale price become determinable, the seller reduces its cost basis in the shares. As such, no capital gain is realized until the amount of the sale price that can be calculated with certainty and to which the seller has an absolute (although not necessarily immediate) right exceeds the seller’s cost base. The administrative policy applies if the following conditions are met:

对于根据或有对价安排出售的股份，加拿大税务局颁布了优惠的行政性政策，允许出售方利用成本回收方法，申报出售收益，避免第12(1)(g)条规定的情形。根据该机制，随着出售价格可确定，出售方可降低持有股份的成本基础。因此，在可以确定计算的且出售方拥有绝对（但并非可即时生效的）权利的出售价格超过出售方的成本基础之前，不会实现任何资本收益。在下列条件满足的情况下，行政性政策适用：

• the seller deals at arm’s length with the buyer;
• 出售方与收购方非关联；
• the earn-out feature relates to underlying goodwill whose value cannot reasonably be expected to be agreed on by the parties at the date of sale;
• 或有对价的特征与潜在商誉有关，而双方在出售日期预计无法协定此等商誉的价值；
• the last contingent amount under the earn-out becomes payable within five years of the end of the Target tax year that includes the date of sale; and
• 或有对价项下的最后一笔或有对价金额，在包含出售日期的目标公司税务年度结束后五年内可支付；以及
• the seller submits a formal request to use the cost recovery method with its year-of-sale tax return. A reverse earn-out is also frequently used to avoid the application of section 12(1)(g).

Essentially, if a property’s purchase price is expressed as a maximum considered to be the property’s FMV at the time of sale subject to reductions if reasonable conditions regarding future earnings are not met, section 12(1)(g) will not apply. Instead, both the seller’s proceeds and buyer’s cost basis will be treated as the maximum amount owing, subject to appropriate adjustment in post-sale tax years if the relevant conditions are not met and the sale price is reduced. Such post-closing adjustments to the buyer’s cost basis can be troublesome if the buyer sells Target shares before the completion of the adjustment period.

• 出售方在资产出售年度的纳税申报单中，提交了采用成本回收方法的正式请求。²³反向的或有对价也常被用于规避第12(1)(g)条。实质上，如果一项资产的收购价格表示为出售时资产的最高公允市价，且如果与未来收益有关的条件未满足时此等价格需进行下调，则第12(1)(g)条不适用。²⁴相反，出售方的收益与收购方的成本基础将视为最高应付金额，若未达到相关条件并降低出售价格，将在出售后的税务年度进行恰当调整。如果收购方在调整周期结束之前出售目标公司股份，此等对收购方成本基础的交割后调整可能产生问题。