In Duggan v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 175 (CanLII), the appellant appealed the Minister's previous assessments which denied charitable credits that the appellant claimed in their 2007 and 2008 taxation years, with respect to charitable donations that were allegedly made. The Tax Court of…
Here is an interesting Federal Court case McNally v. Canada (National Revenue) 2015 FC 767 dealing with a delay by CRA in issuing a notice of assessment when a taxpayer has participated in what CRA would an abusive charity gifting tax scheme.…
The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) has provided a new option for charities to receive the latest notices from the Charities Directorate and the annual reminder to file the Form T3010, Registered Charity Information Return, by e-mail (rather than by regular mail). …
The CRA has posted guidance on the recent 2015 Federal Budget and specifically the provisions relating to donations involving private corporation shares or real estate and the ability of registered charities to invest in limited partnerships. You can read the CRA guidance here…
On July 15, 2015 Mark Blumberg will be delivering a 2 hour presentation entitled “Top 20 Charity Law Issues for Canadian Registered Charities” in Ottawa. The presentation is complimentary but if you are interested in attending you should register here. Here…
I was pleased to see in the Federal budget some funds allocated to study and improve the system of remittances from Canada to developing countries. In my blog on the day of the Federal Budget entitled 2015 Federal Budget and its…
'The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest' was recently released by the Competition Bureau. The Bureau is committed to enhancing transparency and communication so they are providing this publication which contains information on the relevant provisions of the Competition Act relating to advertising. …
I will be on a panel at Carleton University on July 16 discussing “Public policy for philanthropy, charities and nonprofits– The issue we cannot ignore” with Cathy Barr, Senior Vice-President, Imagine Canada and Liz Sutherland, Policy Advisor, Ontario Nonprofit Network. Here is the invitation:…
In De Santis v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 95 (CanLII) CRA challenged the valuation of wine. In this case the Tax Court of Canada sided with the donor as the CRA had not introduced evidence to rebut the evidence of the…
If you have lots of time on your hands over the summer you might want to read the report “Exploring the Potential of Social Finance in Canada” from Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of…
CRA recently released a letter discussing the required retention period, according to the Income Tax Act (Canada) for the books and records of a corporation (non-profits and registered charities), including the required retention period for a corporation that has dissolved. …
CRA recently released a letter which discussed whether the lottery income received by a non-profit organization (the 'Association') is subject to taxation in the hands of the Association. The Association provided funding for physical and recreational activities. The Association obtained its funding from…
The Hudson Institute has recently released The Index of Philanthropic Freedom 2015. The survey looked at 64 countries and “Through these expert opinion surveys, in-depth information was collected on three main indicators: 1) ease of registering and operating civil society…
In Rae v. Canada (National Revenue), 2015 FC 707 (CanLII), Ms. Rose Marie Joan Rae had invested in what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme”. She filed her 2013 tax return in 2014 and has yet to receive…
On March 26, 2015, Rick Stewart, Assistant Commissioner, Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch, of the Canada Revenue Agency, made a presentation to the Finance Committee on terrorism. Here are some excerpts of the presentation. We're here to discuss the…
The CRA in May 2015 updated their guide Registering a Charity for Income Tax Purposes T4063(E). The Guide is the main source of information from CRA to assist the public with charity applications. The main change between the 2013 version of…
Recently the IRS has released an adverse determination letter dealing with discretion and control over grants to foreign organizations by an “American Friends of …” organization. What is interesting, but certainly not new, is the US requirements for “discretion and control”…
The House of Commons Finance Committee has announced the 2015 pre-budget consultations. Charities interested in making submissions to the Finance Committee should review their recent press release. Submissions should be dealing with certain themes and no longer than 2,000 words.…
CRA recently released a letter that discusses the tax implications of an affordable housing provider (an entity described in paragraph 149(1)(l) of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”)) that wanted to provide long-term leasing of its parking spots to a business owned…
Here is an article entitled Canadian Charities Conducting International Activities (2015). It will be of interest to Canadian charities that are, or considering, operating outside of Canada.
Over 5000 Canadian registered charities operate outside of Canada and they cumulatively spend around $3 billion per year on foreign activities. The Fundamentals of International Activities by Canadian Registered Charities is a 1/2 day presentation with charity lawyer Mark Blumberg which…
The involvement of charities in political activities has been a major story since 2012. The 2012 Federal Budget introduced new reporting requirements for charities for 2013 but does not fundamentally affect the ability of charities to engage in political activities.…
I was delighted to present as part of a panel at the Université de Montréal Charity Law Conference 2015 on May 8, 2015. The panel was entitled The Modern Charities Regulator and my presentation was entitled “Overview of the Regulatory Environment in Canada…
The Bottom Line recently published an article entitled Ontario non-profits await new legislation by Mark Blumberg. The article discusses options for Ontario non-profits including waiting for ONCA or moving forward to the new CNCA and skipping ONCA altogether. The Bottom Line…