The CRA announced today the revocation of another Canadian registered charity called “Destiny Health and Wellness Foundation” which was involved with charity gifting tax shelters. News release The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Destiny Health and Wellness…
The Canada Revenue Agency has just announced that it has revoked the charitable status of the Canadian charity “Liberty Wellness Initiative” for involvement in a charity gifting tax shelter. News release The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of…
Here is a list of some of the top 10 workshops I have been delivering around Canada over the last year. If you think that your organization can benefit let me know and maybe we can work something out. 1)…
I was recently wondering how many Canadian charities have recently lost their registered charity status for cause? Also for what reasons did they lose their registered charitable status? See my note Canadian Charities Recently Revoked by CRA for Cause. Here…
Here is a copy of a press release from the Canada Revenue Agency entitled “Charges laid in donation tax fraud investigation”. In the press release CRA discusses the charges it has laid against three people who allegedly issued donation receipts…
Abusive tax schemes involving tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions undermine our tax system and all the program that are supported by taxes – not to mention impose additional burden on other taxpayers. I thought that this sentence from the CRA…
In a recent article by Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post, Gordon Pape warns Canadians not to be involved with charity tax shelter schemes that promise an official donation receipt greater than your cash contribution. Here are some excerpts from…
The most important document for Canadian registered charities to understand their obligations for fundraising is the CRA’s Fundraising Guidance. You can see the document in English at: and in French at: To make it more convenient for some…
I think that some people assume that if a tax avoidance scheme is sufficiently complicated or “grey” and sufficiently well documented that the courts will allow those schemes. If you make that assumption you might want to read Coleman v.…
Here is a copy of a letter I am told was sent from The Hon. Albina Guarnieri, M.P.. The letter is in italics. I have placed in bold italics the parts that I find most objectionable and at the end…
In Lockie v. The Queen, 2010 TCC 142 (March 18, 2010) the Tax Court of Canada ruled that with a donation scheme involving pens and toothbrushes that were donated to a charity as part of a charity gifting tax shelter…
In this recent press release from CRA they noted that “Promoters and other third?party representatives are penalized when they make false statements involving schemes that are against the law. Currently, there are 71 audits involving promoters. Recent examples include a…
The Globe and Mail reported on March 16, 2010 that a Liberal MP is proposing a private members bill that would make salary disclosure mandatory for the top 5 executives of a registered charity and cap all payments to any…
Here are some recent items from the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) Communique. Canadian Budget 2010 Announces Disbursement Quota Reform for Canadian Charities The Canadian federal government announced disbursement quota reform in the 2010 Budget to remove the 80/20 expenditure…
It was a pleasure having Marie-Luise Ahlendorf of Transparency International Global Programmes presenting this report and handbook at the recent Charity Law Information Program conference in Toronto. The handbook is easy to read and “compiles best practice from the field,…
The 2010 Canadian Federal budget had some changes to the Income Tax Act to prevent transactions by registered Canadian charities that “may reasonably be considered that a purpose of the transaction was to avoid or delay unduly the expenditure of…
These resources may be of interest to those who wish to combat fraud in the charitable sector or targetting charities. FRAUD PREVENTION MONTH – March 2010 Capital One and CanadaHelps Did you know that the reputation and fundraising efforts of…
The Canadian government recently blacklisted a Somali group called al-Shabab for involvement with terrorism. Canadian charities and individuals must take care not to support directly or indirectly any groups that are on Canada’s terrorism watch list. Here is an article…
In International Pentecostal Ministry Fellowship of Toronto v. The Queen (FCA) located at the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed CRA’s jurisdiction over Canadian charities registered under the Income Tax Act (Canada). In quite a strongly worded statement the decision…
Here is the Toronto Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) Being Good at Doing Good Conference brochure. CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT Being Good at Doing Good Safeguarding Yourself and Your Charity in a Complex World Hosted by the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP)…
Here is a free archived webinar entitled “Working in Difficult Areas: 16 Steps to Avoiding Direct or Indirect Involvement with Terrorism” with charity lawyer Mark Blumberg. https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=506162&rKey=030166e88da95ab7&act=pb
Here is a free archived webinar entitled “Avoiding Extreme Misuse of Charitable Assets: Fraud, Money Laundering, and Terrorism” with charity lawyer Mark Blumberg. https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=440632&rKey=dabdc720d228c0e6&act=pb
Here is a free archived webinar entitled “Ethical Issues and Foreign Activities” with charity lawyer Mark Blumberg. https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=595442&rKey=2c43133114600d23&act=pb
Here is a free archived webinar entitled “CRA’s New Fundraising Guidance: What Does It Mean?” https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=440027&rKey=482cc2c6dcf99042&act=pb