The first class action lawsuit involving what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme” has settled at a Settlement and Class Counsel Fee Approval Hearing that was held on January 17, 2012 in Toronto. The material for that hearing…
Ken Berger, the President & Chief Executive Officer, of the US charity watch dog group Charity Navigator will speaking at the CLIP conference “Being Good at Doing Good” on the subject of “The Battle for Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector”.…
Lois G. Lerner, the Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service will be speaking at the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) Conference “Being Good at Doing Good” in Toronto, which is taking place on February 13…
The Toronto Star’s Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, who frequently covers the charitable sector, will be presenting at the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) conference “Being Good at Doing Good”. Increasingly the media has been focusing on charities and certain hot…
On December 21, 2011 the Department of Finance announced a consultation on “updating Canada’s regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.” They also put out a consultation paper, “Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti?Terrorist Financing Regime,” which contains a…
Here are some upcoming Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) seminars which I will be presenting across Canada. The format will be a morning discussing the 2011 Budget provisions for charities, some information on the new Federal Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act,…
The 2011 Federal Budget received Royal Assent on December 16, 2011. There were a number of changes that affect charities, RCAAAs and other types of qualified donees that were in the budget. Here is a copy of the press release…
Here is an interesting article on transparency in the Chinese charitable sector. “Charities will lose public credibility without transparency,” said one researcher. It is interesting to note that in one scandal involving the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the…
Here is my article Budget 2011 and new “ineligible individual” category: How this can affect your Canadian registered charity. Download Article
Scarfone Hawkins LLP has announced that a there is a settlement of the Banyan Tree class action lawsuit, subject to court approval. On their website they state: “Settlement of Action This action has been settled. The settlement is subject to…
It is the time of year that many are thinking about and giving to charity. The Federal government sent out a press release stating “We encourage Canadians to donate generously but also to do their homework to ensure that the…
In Sarsonas v. The Queen, 2011 TCC 559 (December 8, 2011) Sheridan J. delivers a decision on a claim by Mr. Sarsonas that he donated thousands of dollars to charity. Sheridan J. describes in detail a scheme in which some…
The CRA just put out a press release entitled “The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation”. The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Canadian Foundation for Tamil…
David Baines of the Vancouver Sun just wrote an article dealing with the VIA Project entitled “Ontario company pitching controversial charitable donation scheme in Victoria: Canada Revenue Agency has disallowed similar ‘buy low, donate high’ schemes” Here is a link…
I recently gave a presentation to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s 14th Annual Estate and Trust Summit providing the Charity Law Update. Here is a copy of my slides. Here is a copy of my paper Charity Law Update…
Today the Toronto Star posted an article entitled “Audit of charities encounters resistance”. I think that it is very important that there be transparency about charities and I have written quite a bit on the subject. Charities must be transparent…
The Toronto Star has written about a Canadian charity named HEDAC in an article entitled “Toronto charity goes from zero to $60M in a year” Toronto charity goes from zero to $60M in a year November 16, 2011 10:11:00…
Another Canadian charity has been revoked involvement with “abusive charity gifting tax shelters”. [Update] Here is a copy of various letters from CRA to The Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services. November 15, 2011 10:39 ET The Canada Revenue Agency…
It seems that the Australians are also suffering from some of the tax schemes that have plagued Canada. The Australian Tax Office notes “Examples of tax schemes Tax schemes often involve a series of complex transactions. They may also involve…
Here is a copy of the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List – October 2011. To sign up and receive monthly updates go to FEATURED 1) Industry Canada announces that on Monday October 17, 2011 Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA)…
[HERE IS AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE BLUMBERGS' RECEIPTING KIT AS OF 2018] I am working through the Charity Law Information Program of Capacity Builders to prepare a “Receipting Kit” which is a 25 page explanation of how charities should receipt. It…
Here is an interesting report involving a UK charity with many lessons that can be learned by Canadian charities. The UK charity raised money for the Tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake in 2005. In 2006 there were allegations…
Here is an interesting article by Jamie Golombek entitled “A crazy tale of tax fraud”. Unfortunately these types of unsophisticated schemes cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. They are referred to as receipting fraud. There is another type…
Here is an upcoming webinar “The role of the Not-for-Profit Board Treasurer”. Here is the blurb: Free webinar: The role of the Not-for-Profit Board Treasurer Treasurers of not-for-profit organizations play a key role in ensuring the financial sustainability of the…