The Ontario Government has introduced The Companies Statute Law Amendment Act, 2013 on June 5, 2013 which “contains proposed consequential, clarifying and transitional amendments which are necessary to support proclamation of ONCA, which received Royal Assent in October 2010 and…
The Federal Court of Appeal released a judgment on May 1, 2013 relating to the revocation of the Prescient Foundation. Here is a link to the Prescient Foundation judgment: Here is a PDF copy of the Prescient Foundation judgment:…
The CFC 2013 Conference will be held in Winnipeg. I will be delivering a presentation on dealing with non-qualified donees. In honour of the conference and as part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project we have prepared some statistical information…
Here is a CRA letter from its Income Tax Rulings Directorate to the Charities Directorate on “municipal or public body performing a function of government” and the information and documents the Charities Directorate should request as part of an application…
Here is a CRA letter from the Income Tax Rulings Directorate to the Charities Directorate. It discusses “1) proposed eligibility criteria for application process to qualified donees list; and 2) application process and documentary requirements.” Here is the text of…
Here is a letter from CRA dealing with a non-profit that has an interest expense. The main issue was “Whether the interest expense incurred to renovate a building of a 149(1)(l) entity may be deducted from interest income earned on…
Here is a letter from CRA in French on charitable remainder trusts. According to the summary the letter discusses “1) Whether the gift of an interest in a trust will give rise to a tax credit pursuant to subsection 118.1(3)?…
Corporations Canada, under Industry Canada, has started sending out default notices to organizations that are under the new CNCA but have not filed their Form 4022 – Annual Return. The Annual Return is quite easy to complete. Here is a…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has offered some advice to donors interested in supporting Syria. I would point out that in Canada the Humanitarian Coalition is now collecting funds for Syria. http://humanitariancoalition.ca/ Here is blurb on the Humanitarian…
The website of the Charity Commission of England and Wales has been redesigned. The website always offered very useful information on legal issues affecting charities in the England and Wales. However, most importantly much of that information was also useful…
The CRA has been sending out a “Notice of Filing Omission” to charities who don’t file their financial statements with the T3010. This is an important reminder that you don’t have to just file the T3010 – you also need…
In Gateway City Church and The Minister of National Revenue, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed Gateway’s appeal to prevent the Minister from revoking its charitable status. CRA revoked the registered charity’s registration for 3 reasons namely “Failure to maintain…
CRA has released a letter providing responses to the questions posed at the 2011 Canadian Tax Foundation National Conference. CRA provides comments on the NPO Risk Identification Project and various comments on previous Interpretation Bulletin’s regarding NPO’s that have been…
CRA recently released a letter that provides general comments and suggested information that needs to be submitted to the Charities Directorate of the CRA when municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada are applying to be…
The Charities Directorate is launching a new Charities Program Update bulletin. It will be sent to the 23,000 subscribers to the Charities Directorate email list. Lots of interesting information and statistics are contained in the Update. Here is the text…
Today the Ontario government announced the release of the plain language guide to the ONCA. Here is the announcement: “Sent to you on behalf of David Brezer, Director of the Consumer Policy & Liaison Branch, Ministry of Consumer Services. I…
The CRA has revoked the registration of The Life Centre Word of Faith Ministries Inc. as a charity. The Globe and Mail covered this story in “Toronto pastor, wife charged in alleged $8.6-million Ponzi scheme” Here is the CRA press…
The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of the Canadian registered charity Trinity Global Support Foundation. The London Free Press has written extensively on this charity and we have covered here: “FCA case on Trinity Global Support Foundation…
Industry Canada today announced today that “The forms under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act have been modified to ensure a high level of Web accessibility to which the Government of Canada is committed. Only the format and look have been…
In this case Trinity Global Support Foundation (the “Foundation”) asked the court to delay CRA publishing a notice of intention to revoke the registered charity status until the Foundation’s other legal claims have been dealt with. The FCA ruled against…
CRA released a letter that discussed the issue of whether a member of the clergy who performs occasional liturgical services would satisfy the “function test” of ministering to a congregation, diocese or parish on a part-time or assistant basis. The…
Last month CRA released an updated Guide which explains how the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) applies to non-profit organizations. This includes registration requirements, exemptions, rebates, and simplified methods of accounting that may apply to a non-profit organization.…
Last month the CRA released an updated Guide which explains how the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) applies to registered charities or registered Canadian amateur athletic associations. Here is a link to the CRA Guide on GST-HST Information…
Today the Department of Finance released the “Notice of Ways and Means Motion to amend the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and Related legislation”. This will introduce the First-Time Donor Credit, improve the efficiency of the Tax Court…