You can use section 18(1) of the child support guidelines to reduce the guideline income for self employed persons to a fraction of their tax return line 150 income.
In our recent case success, our client’s tax return income was almost $600,000 but the court attributed a fair wage to him under section 18(1)(b) of $200,000. This approach reflects the reality that a self employed person’s tax return income should be viewed with a critical eye by his counsel. A failure to view the tax return income with scepticism will result in your client paying way too much in spousal and child support.
We just used this innovative argument successfully on behalf of our client. Here is an extract from our winning argument.