CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether a gift by will of marketable securities provided to a Foundation would be deemed to have been made immediately before the death of the donor. CRA concluded that the gift did constitute…
As part of their educational mandate to encourage charities to be compliant with their legal requirements, including when conducting political activities, the Charities Directorate has released a “Political Activities PowerPoint Presentation” that registered charities can use internally to understand the…
The CRTC issued its first CASL violation to Compu-Finder for four alleged violations occurring between July 2, 2014 and September 16, 2014. A penalty of $1.1 million dollars was imposed by the CRTC and Compu-Finder will have 30 days to…
The Department of Finance has released a somewhat in depth report as part its tax evaluation series on “Evaluation of the Federal Charitable Donation Tax Credit“. It is an interesting report. If one is interested in tax incentives the reports…
Here is an interesting quote from the CCVO newsletter. “Albertans…more Scrooge than Saint? The recent stats on charitable donations from Statistics Canada placed Alberta close to the top with the second highest median donation. However Maclean's took it one step further and compared…
I am pleased to be presenting to the Ontario Hospital Association's third annual Strengthening Foundation Governance Workshop on May 22, 2015. Here is a description of the presentation to the Strengthening Foundation Governance: Current Issues, Challenges and Solutions: Top Compliance…
I am delighted to be co-presenting at the 2015 Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise (CCSE) on the topic “Structuring for Impact – Finding The Right Form For Your Social Enterprise”. The conference is from April 22-24. My topic, along with Cathy…
Here is my article 20 Ways We May Be Able To Help You With ONCA. It sets out some of the items that our law firm can assist Ontario non-profit corporations with when preparing for ONCA. The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”)…
The CRA on February 6, 2015 released a new guidance entitled CG-022 Housing and Charitable Registration Guidance. It covers a number of issues relating to housing including how housing can be used to relieve poverty and the provision of specially…
In Arthur v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 43, Juliet Arthur was appealing a reassessment made by CRA relating to two receipts. The case provides a good summary of the cases dealing with lack of appropriate documentation for donations – especially…
As we have reported before Industry Canada has sent out over 16,000 notices of pending dissolution to about 6000 CCA corporations. Typically Industry Canada sends such notice to the registered office and each director. However, if Industry Canada knows that the…
We are now in February of 2015. ONCA has not moved forward since the Ontario election last year. It looks like ONCA may not even come into force until mid-2016 and perhaps 2017. It is difficult to know what will…
The Australian website Pro Bono Australia has published an article on an Australian Federal Court decision to impose a $1.5 million fine on a “fake philanthropic scheme was modelled on an arrangement which previously failed in Canada, and involved the…
CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether an organization approved for registration as a qualified donee (as a public body performing a function of government) by the Charities Directorate requires a separate ruling to claim tax exemption under 149…
The British Columbia Supreme Court recently released a decision, Re Mulgrave School Foundation, which discusses charitable gifts that are made for a specific charitable purpose and whether it is possible to change that purpose. Unfortunately, in this case the donors…
CRA recently released a letter which discussed various tax implications with respect to the sale of a clubhouse and dining facility being used by the members of a non-profit organization, specifically, whether the capital gain resulting from the sale of…
The Canada Revenue Agency has distributed a press release that it has revoked the registration of African Computer and Technology Literacy Awareness Program (ACTLAP) Inc. for involvement with an abusive charity gifting tax scheme. Here is the text of the press release:…
The CRA Fundraising Guidance, is CRA's main document dealing with the obligations of registered charities when it comes to fundraising. The CRA Fundraising Guidance was initially published in 2009 but then significantly updated on April 20, 2012. At the bottom of each…
In a recent case French v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 35, the CRA asked that certain arguments related to defining a gift be struck as they had no hope of success. Campbell J. Miller of the Tax Court of Canada agreed with CRA.…
I recently filed a submission with the Ontario government entitled “Enhancing the ONCA Transition for Ontario non-profit corporations that are registered charities by reducing redundant regulatory review” Here is the text: There are over 50,000 Ontario non-profit corporations under the…
CRA recently released a letter with respect to spousal sharing of charitable gifts that was written to David Sherman, one of Canada's top tax lawyers. As a result of recent legislative amendments in Bill C-43 which received Royal Assent on…
In an interesting decision the Charity Commission of England and Wales decided that a gun club should not be registered as a UK charity as it “existed primarily for civilian competition and recreation shooting for the benefit of members rather…
Should CRA do a better job of warning Canadians about abusive charity gifting tax schemes? Well a group of Plaintiffs who participated in the abusive tax shelter gifting scheme Global Learning Group Inc (GLGI) thinks so. “The Plaintiffs made…
According to Canadian Press “The federal revenue agency can now hand the police possible evidence of serious crime — including terrorist activity — that it happens to come across while reviewing taxpayer files. The Canada Revenue Agency gained the little-noticed new authority,…