A recent OECD report discusses CIDA and Canada’s aid effort. Canada receive some praise for certain initiatives but recommendations were made for improvements in other areas. The report notes: “Canada’s aid programme stood at USD 5.3 billion in 2011 (0.31%…
Here is the cost decision of Strathy J. in the Cannon v Funds for Canada Foundation et al class action case. Cannon v Funds for Canada Foundation et al HEADNOTE: Reasons for costs. Citation: 2012 ONSC 3009 RE: Michael…
We have noted for a number of years that almost $500 million in “false” receipts have been issued. These are fraudulent receipts – no complicated scheme is involved and typically is no donation at all to a charity. (These are…
Canadian registered charities are not allowed to make donations to political parties. The Calgary Herald in an article entitled “U of C documents point to political donations that may have contravened election law” states “Thousands of dollars in “indirect contributions”…
Here is a short article that I wrote entitled “Focus on Canadian Charities and Political Activities” for the Canadian Donor’s Guide in May 2012. Focus on Canadian Charities and Political Activities
In January 2012 I put in an access to information request to the Department of Finance relating to certain inappropriate activities by Canadian charities. In April 2012 I received a partial response. It includes everything from newspaper articles to secret…
The Ontario Council for International Cooperation will be having its 2012 AGM and Conference. There will be a number of interesting discussions on international development and humanitarian assistance. I will be delivering a short break out session:” “Legal Perspectives on…
The Charities Directorate has released Charities Connection No. 12 – June 2012 newsletter which deal with the charity provisions of the 2012 Federal Budget, Charity Quick View, the Registered Charity Basic Information Sheet and the recent CRA guidance on fundraising.…
The Charity Finance Group is a group of charity finance managers based in the UK. They prepared recently a “Guide on Charity Fraud: A guide for the trustees and managers of charities”. Canadian charities may find the free guide helpful…
The CBC just ran a story entitled “Hindu temple faces fine over tsunami donations”. It discusses a recent fine imposed by CRA on the charity. According to the lawyer for the charity the matter will be appealed so it will…
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf of CharityVillage recently wrote an article “Don’t be a nonprofit party to terror” which discusses regulatory and risk management issues for charities in the area of preventing terrorism. Here is a link to Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf’s article “Don’t be…
There have been a number of articles dealing with Canadian charities and political activities over the last few weeks. Here are some of them: Green gets mean with Ottawa: Conservatives’ proposed dilution of environmental laws, attacks on groups has created…
The CRA has posted another short video for donors on YouTube. In 3 1/2 minutes is covers quite a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28JP7NdHoGg&list=PL1E5C4C9A88191868
A few weeks ago CRA revoked the charitable status of an environmental group for involvement in an abusive gifting tax scheme. Sorry to disappoint some but no political activities here. The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Escarpment Biosphere…
The Wall Street Journal had an article “California Couple Loses $18.5 Million Charitable Deduction on Technicality” which describes how a couple donated $18.5 million to a charitable remainder trust but did not get a ‘qualified appraisal’ of the real estate…
Here are the letters from CRA to HEDAC (Help Eliminate Disease and Addiction Canada) which explain why HEDAC was revoked for cause. Letters from CRA to HEDAC
The CRA recently revoked for cause the charitable registration of Power Zone Outreach Ministries. Here are the CRA letters to Power Zone Outreach Ministries explaining why the registered charity was revoked for cause.
The Standing Committee on Finance dealt with the charity provisions in the 2012 Federal Budget on May 28, 2012 from approximately 7 p.m. to 9 pm. The subject matter was “Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the…
The UK government has backtracked on a proposal to cap charitable giving for high net worth individuals at the greater of 1/4 of income or £50,000. The change of course is not surprising but shows how in increasingly difficult times…
The National Post has written two articles on Canadian hospitals and their Tim Horton operations. As these articles deal with the nexus between our charitable sector (very important) and Tim Hortons (vital) I feel I must comment. Both articles say…
I was asked to make another submission before the Standing Committee on Finance next Monday May 28, 2012 on the 2012 Federal Budget. (Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the Budget and other measures) I just appeared…
Today I will be presenting to the Ontario Hospital Association Conference on “Top legal compliance concerns for Canadian registered charities” and a second presentation on “Ethical Decision-Making in the Not-For-Profit Sector”. It was a busy day – also presented to…
The Globe and Mail had an article today entitled “Noose tightens around donation tax schemes”. It discusses litigation around some schemes that the CRA characterizes as “abusive gifting tax schemes”. Here is a link to the Globe and Mail article:…
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer has released a very interesting report entitled “Cost Estimates of Proposed Tax Measures to Encourage Charitable Donations of Assets”. It was written by Stephen Tapp. It looks at the effect of increasing certain…