I will be leading a webinar entitled “Spam Law – Recent Legislation and its Impact on Canadian Fundraisers and Charities” on October 28, 2013 AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada and Mackenzie Investments have partnered to strengthen training and education…
The Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of the ISNA Development Foundation for funding activities outside of Canada without appropriate “direction and control” and funds for “relief work” may have been used to support…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has released an updated public benefit guidance. Canadian charities can find this material quite helpful in terms of the understanding the concept of public benefit and how a charity can show public benefit. …
I will be co-presenting on “Ethical Decision-Making in Fundraising: Dealing with Situations that Challenge Professional Ethics” at the Ontario Hospital Association conference HealthAchieve 2013 in Toronto in November. Ethical Decision-Making in Fundraising: Dealing with Situations that Challenge Professional Ethics…
The short answer is that no one really knows. I asked Industry Canada to comment on this “The number of CCA corporations is commonly said to be 19000. It is actually about 25,000 on the rolls of IC but some…
In a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision, Cheder Chabad v. The Queen, the registered charity Cheder Chabad had asked that CRA be prohibited from publishing a notice of revocation until the charity had exhausted all its rights to object…
CRA has recently revoked the Christian Economic Assistance Foundation as a registered charity. The charity had been previously covered by the National Post in a story entitled “Parents could face massive bills after CRA accuses Christian schools charity program of…
The new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA) is likely to come into effect in July 2014. The Ministry of Consumer Services has started to place some information on the new act on their website. We have tried to consolidate all…
The Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services has provided an update today on the implementation status of the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA). The Ministry notes: “The Act is targeted to come into effect in 2014. Amendments to more than 80…
The Tax Court of Canada recently released a decision in Winston Blackmore v. Her Majesty the Queen in which appeals from the tax assessments made under the Income Tax Act for an individual leading a polygamous community in B.C., “Bountiful”,…
CRA has recently updated their web page on Amalgamations, Mergers and Consolidations.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released a decision in R. v. Tennina which demonstrates that Canadian courts are taking a much tougher approach when dealing with tax fraud schemes. The accused in this case was involved in evading…
There is an interesting and important report from the Parkland Institute entitled “Shooting The Messenger: The Need For Effective Whistleblower Protection In Alberta”. The report is written by David Hutton. David Hutton is also the Executive Director of, FAIR (Federal…
Today the CRA released its long awaited Guidance on Promotion of Health and Charitable Registration. This guidance could potentially impact a number of different types of charitable organizations that deal with health care. Here is a summary: `Guidance Reference number…
On September 17, 2013 Mark Blumberg will be interviewed on Ted Hart’s The Nonprofit Coach Radio Show. Here is a link with call in numbers:
Bill C-48 (Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012) which deals with many matters including split receipting received Royal Assent as on June 26, 2013. Some of the amendments affecting charities were announced over 10 years ago. These and many other technical…
The Tax Court of Canada recently released a decision in Bandi v. The Queen which dismissed an appeal by a taxpayer who participated in a charitable giving program in 2003. The taxpayer claimed a charitable donation tax credit which was…
CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether a capital gain resulting from the sale of real property by an NPO qualifies for the exemption from tax under subparagraph 149(5)(e)(ii) of the Income Tax Act. Income from property (including capital…
As of January 1, 2012, as of result of amendments to the Income Tax Act, low-cost housing corporations for the aged have to apply for registration to be considered a qualified donee. For many low-cost housing corporations being considered a…
Here is the Blumbergs’ submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for their Pre-budget Consultations 2013. Blumbergs’ House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance- Pre-budget Consultations 2013 submission Some of the themes I touched upon are more…
Wayne Gray, Allen Doppelt and myself will be presenting a webinar for the Canadian Bar Association on “Continuance Under the New Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act” “Continuance Under the New Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act Oct. 17, 2013 Presented live via webconference…
CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether two members of the clergy who are spouses, but own and reside in separate residences may claim the clergy residence deduction for their individual residence. A residential deduction is allowed under the…
I recently received updated numbers from Industry Canada on the CNCA. they show some progress but a lot more needs to be done. Here is what Industry Canada told me: How many CCA corporations have moved over to the new…
There was an article recently in the Toronto Star regarding a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audit of the Islamic Society of North America, a registered Canadian Charity. Here is the article in the Toronto Star: Also the article references…