The recent decision of Ploughman v. The Queen, 2017 TCC 64 deals with a “third-party civil penalty” against Mr. Ploughman for his involvement in what CRA refers to as “abusive charity gifting tax shelter” but this decision refers to as…
We are pleased to announce the Blumbergs' Canadian Charity Law Institute 2017 will be on Monday October 16, 2017. Further details will follow. Registration and early bird information is here.
On May 25, 2017, I will be doing a free webinar for CharityVillage on Charitable Receipting Do's and Don'ts which will discuss receipting by Canadian registered charities.
Carleton University has a Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL). They do some very interesting programs relating to the non-profit and charity sector. On April 28, 2017 they will be holding a one day program entitled The Future of Charity…
Here is an interesting article from the NPQ entitled “Wallace Global Fund Fires Law Firm for Aiding Trump’s “Ethical Carnage”. It discusses how a large US charity has decided to sever a long term relationship with a major US law…
The 2017 Canadian Federal Budget was released today. Here is our article 2017 Canadian Federal Budget – How will it affect the Canadian charitable sector?
The Charity Commission has recently updated their guidance “Charity finances: trustee essentials“. It provides helpful information on finances that Canadian directors and trustees, as well as staff, should be aware of. Keep in mind that on certain points the law in…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) are organizing a conference called “Give & Take: Consumers, Contributions, and Charity” on Tuesday March 21, 2017. It will be in Washington but it will be…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has provided some useful information on the dangers of using cash couriers for implementing local and foreign activities. Here is the alert: Commission and police strongly advise charities against the use of…
The consolidation of all Government of Canada websites into one domain at www.canada.ca has started. In theory this is an opportunity to have a more streamlined, secure government website. I have two concerns about how this will affect charities. First…
The Canada Revenue Agency (‘CRA’) recently updated the T2050 form used by organizations when applying for charitable status with the Charities Directorate of the CRA. On the last page of the form, CRA has included a privacy disclosure which indicates that CRA…
I recently read a press release from a Canadian think tank that said “Charitable giving in Canada hits 10-year low”. They proposed “In total, Canadians claimed $9 billion in charitable donations in 2014. But had Canadians donated in 2014 at…
This is a commonly asked question. For some it is very simple – the Prime Minister is up late at night and decides who will live and who will die! Others probably think that there is a big wheel…
CRA recently released its first video as part of a new educational video series on 'Gifting and Receipting'. This series is meant to educate the public, donors, and those involved in the charitable sector on the type of donations that…
The work that charities do is extremely important to our society, so it is vital that various stakeholders, such as the public, the media, the government, donors, employees, boards, donors and others. have access to key information on what the…
Here is a CRA document provided under access to information rules which includes their media response on Canadian charities and funding or supporting terrorism. Not surprisingly because of the very limited scope for CRA to divulge information under the confidentiality provisions…
In the notes section of a CRA presentation “Regulation of Charities – Overview” the CRA notes that in 2012 the amount of receipts issued was $14.28 Billion and that “the federal assistance for charitable donations in 2012 exceeded $2.9 ……
A Canadian charity has launched a charter challenge against the restrictions on registered charities in carrying out political activities. They argue that it violates freedom of speech and assembly amongst other things. The CBC covered it in an article entitled “Anti-poverty…
In a 44 page cost decision Pizzitelli J. discusses how much costs should be given to CRA (the Respondent) with respect to the abusive charity gifting tax scheme, GLGI, that he had previously provided a judgment in. The hearings on…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has recently released a draft guidance on the types of controls English charities should be using when providing grants to non-English charities. The draft guidance is entitled “Grant funding an organisation that isn’t a…
In a recent decision Mariano v. The Queen, the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) awarded a very large cost award in favour of CRA (who was the respondent in the matter) and against GLGI, the promoter, and some of its investors. The…
Markou v. The Queen, 2016 TCC 137 is a super boring case dealing with the jurisdiction of the Tax Court of Canada and whether such court can make a determination as to whether certain proceeds are part of a Quistclose trust. Beyond…
The Canada Revenue Agency ('CRA') recently revoked the charitable registration of the ACTLAP Children's Foundation (A.C.F.). CRA revoked the charitable status on the basis that the organization had operated primarily for the non-charitable purpose of furthering a tax shelter donation arrangement,…
The CBC in an article entitled “Charity tax fraud to cost brothers their freedom” how two brothers were each sentenced to over 4 years for being involved in charity fraud over nearly $5 million. It shows how the CRA is…