Today CRA has released the Minister of National Revenue's response to the recent changes on Political Activities by Canadian registered charities. The Government has announced that this is their final response to the Report of the Consultation Panel on the Political…
The Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier put out a news release on March 7, 2019 dealing the new Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector (ACCS). I was expecting details in the budget but receiving these details today by press…
The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Charities Directorate is the de facto regulator of Registered Charities in Canada and they audit between 600 and 800 charities per year. This article Registered Charities and CRA Charity Audits will help you understand the process…
The SNC-Lavalin affair has been in the news for a while. Here is an article on how this SNC-Lavalin scandal relates to the charity sector.
An interesting little case in BC called Bodner Estate. Irene Bodna died and left about 8m to 24 different registered charities and non-profits that are all interested in animal welfare and the environment. A small amount was as an outright…
The CRA recently posted on their T3010 page that “In December 2018, the rules governing the political activities of registered charities changed as a result of new legislation that permits charities to carry on unlimited public policy dialogue and development activities in…
Here is the text of a recent CRA letter on a rebate donation program and whether donors can claim a tax deduction. Not surprisingly CRA was not prepared to confirm that a donation receipt can be issued and these sorts…
In the Tax Court of Canada case Kaul v. The Queen, CRA denied certain claims for tax credits relating to an art donation scheme. The taxpayers appealed and the Tax Court of Canada sided with CRA. There is lots of…
The CRA recently released a question and answer document on the December 2018 political activity changes and the new guidance on public policy dialogue and development activities by charities. Here is the Q&A. Here is the text of the CRA…
The CRA document P113 – Gifts and Income Tax 2018 is a helpful guide to the tax consequences of donations to registered charities and qualified donees. It has been recently updated. The pamphlet describes “What's new for 2018? Universities outside Canada –…
Global News journalist Stewart Bell recently wrote an article “Government revokes charity status of Canadian Jewish group that supported ‘foreign armed forces’“. The articles discusses the recent revocation of the Canadian registered charity Beth Oloth Charitable Organization. You can see detailed…
I recently wondered with this new Ontario government whether there was any change relating to the new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA). It is supposed to come into force at the beginning of 2020. So I wrote to the Ontario…
The CRA today released its draft guidance “Public policy dialogue and development activities by charities”. This guidance will replace CRA's Guidance CPS-022, Political activities. The CRA is asking for feedback on this draft administrative guidance and providing until April 23, 2019…
We are pleased to announce that we have recently updated our CharityData.ca website to include nearly all T3010 2017 data and some of the 2018 data. Blumbergs has created the largest Canadian registered charity information portal at CharityData.ca with up to 14…
We have created a course entitled “Should We Establish a Canadian Social Enterprise, Non-Profit or Charity and How to Do It?”. The course is $149 and you can register at https://charity-law.teachable.com/ Here is an overview of the course: Should We…
The compliance requirements and restrictions on private foundations in Canada are frequently misunderstood, even by those who run large private foundations. Here is our article Fallacies about private foundations in 2019 that might be helpful in dispelling these myths. If you are…
David Callahan recently reviewed Rob Reich's new book “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.” in an article “Impossible to Justify” A Political Scientist Takes on American Philanthropy”. The review and the book are a further…
The Swiss Aga Khan Foundation has been added to the list of “Foreign charities that have received a gift from Her Majesty in right of Canada”. They have not been on the list for a number of years. We have discussed…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has significant material to help charities understand the importance of putting in place systems and implementing them to safeguard charity beneficiaries, as well as staff and volunteers. Sometimes the issue is framed in terms…
On Thursday December 13, 2018, Bill C-86 received Royal Assent. Within this Bill, there are several changes to the Income Tax Act related to charities, especially with regards to political activities. The change allows Canadian registered charities to conduct public policy dialogue…
As of November 14, 2018, CRA will no longer send out the peel and stick barcode labels with the T3010 annual information return package. These stickers were on the back of Form TF725, Registered Charity Basic Information Sheet. Charities will…
The CRA released today their Report on the Charities Program 2016 to 2018. They note: “We made the report shorter by reducing the amount of text and added more visuals. The report is now easier to understand and has a more…
On Wednesday November 28, 2018 I presented to the Senate Committee on Finance in Ottawa. My presentation dealt with Bill C-86, Budget Implementation Act, 2018, and specifically the proposed changes to the rules and regulations on political activities carried out…
I wrote an article many years ago encouraging informal legal reviews by non-profits and charities. It was called “Canadian nonprofit and charity legal audits: Forget about it!”. Over the past 11 years the world has changed a bit – more…