CIBC Asks Canadian Court for Tax Rebate with Airline Rewards

One of Canada’s top banks asked a court Tuesday to order the return of C$44.7 million in sales tax payments made through its participation in an airline rewards program.

The rewards, known as Aeroplan miles, shouldn’t be subject to tax because consumers used them as a medium of exchange with no intrinsic value like money, Al Meghji, counsel for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, told a virtual hearing at the Federal Court of Appeal.

The Canada Revenue Agency and the Tax Court of Canada erroneously found that the rewards were not like money by sticking to a strict ...