The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance asked a number of organizations and individuals to submit one-page submissions on Bill C-470. Here is the Blumberg Segal LLP Submission to Finance on C-470 Here is the text of our submission…
Here is a letter from CRA in response to a question about valuing a life insurance policy when it is transferred from a non-arm’s length person to a donor and subsequently gifted to a qualified donee. It deals with the…
Here is a good idea from Albina Guarnieri, MP from Mississauga East-Cooksville. I must admit I only recently saw this, I was too focused on her extremely ill conceived Bill on charity salary disclosure and compensation. This is a Press…
The decision is quite concise and well worth reading for the ever decreasing number of people in Canada who still believe that you can take part in a tax shelter gifting arrangement and make money off a donation to a…
CRA advised today “A revised Registered Charity Information Return has been developed in response to changes announced in the federal budget of March 4, 2010. This new Form T3010-1 will be used by charities with fiscal periods ending on or…
Here is an advisory recently posted on the site of the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board warning people to be cautious about any tax shelter involving the gift of cultural property in Canada. The Canadian Cultural Property Export Review…
Here is a copy of a presentation I have given on CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance. It has been delivered in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa over the last couple of months. If groups are interested in trying to arrange such a…
The Canada Revenue Agency’s annual report to parliament is interesting reading. It has some references to the Charities Directorate, the Charities Partnership and Outreach Program, audits by the charities directorate etc. Here are some references to charities [emphasis is mine]:…
Join me on a “Charity Chat” on Friday, December 3, 2010 12:00 pm (midday) when I discuss “Questions About the Fundraising Guidance”. The Charity Chats are a series of informal online discussions about legal issues affecting charities put on by…
Paragraphs 11-14 of this judgement deal with dubious charitable tax receipts amounting to $15,000. The court criticized the receipts for not having certain mandatory information as set out in the Regulations to the Income Tax Act and also said that…
Here is information from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Partnerships with Canadians Branch (PWCB) on a new $75 million “call for projects over $500,000 to take a comprehensive and integrated approach to address maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH),…
The Strategy Institute’s Foundation, Endowment & Not For Profit Investment Summit is the 8th of its type and will be held in Toronto on January 18 and 19th, 2011. I will be speaking there on Governance and Compliance Challenges for…
Here is an upcoming UJA seminar I will be involved in for January 13, 2011. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto Invites you to attend the 2nd Annual CHARITY LAW SEMINAR for Jewish communal organizations ……………………………………………….. Thursday, January 13, 2011 Sherman…
Here is a copy of Section 3501 of the Income Tax Regulations under the Income Tax Act Canada dealing with the issuance of official donation receipts and the contents of receipts. PART XXXV RECEIPTS FOR DONATIONS AND GIFTS [SOR/81-269, s.…
The Government of Canada has announced that it has designated the American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (AFCLT) as a “prescribed donee” which will help US donors who wish to donate their Canadian land to this particular US charity to…
Another registered Canadian amateur athletic association (RCAAA) loses its status because of involvement with abusive charity gifting tax shelters. $25.9 million in donation receipts. This sports group should be ashamed of itself. News release The CRA revokes the registered status…
Charity receipting fraud in Canada is a big problem. According to CRA, between 100,000-135,000 donors have been involved between 2004 and 2009 with hundreds of millions in fraudulent donation receipts issued. There is no question that the courts will sentence…
The 2010 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada has been released and Chapter 7 deals with Registered Charities and the Canada Revenue Agency. The audit report is positive. The report suggests some areas for changes or improvements. Here…
Here is a copy of the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List newsletter for October 2010. Blumbergs Newsletter Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List – October 2010 1) Upcoming Charity Law Seminars across Canada with Mark Blumberg or CLIP It is important…
CIDA today released further information on its third and last priority theme:Sustainable Economic Growth. CIDA had previously discussed food security and children and youth. Here is the CIDA press release: Minister Oda unveils CIDA’s Sustainable Economic Growth Strategy October…
Cathy Hawara, previously Acting Director General, has now been appointed Director General of the Charities Directorate of the CRA, effective October 5, 2010. This is very good news as we will have some greater stability at the Charities Directorate. She…
The Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act received Royal Assent on October 25, 2010. Here is a copy of the Explanatory Notes and the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act. Ministry News Here is a press release from October 19, 2010: Strengthening Ontario’s Not-For-Profit…
Here is an interesting article by Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star entitled “Charity boss hires own firm to fundraise” in which he describes some of the dealings at the Oshawa Hospital Foundation. There is also a response by the…
I am going to be involved with a number of informal “Charity Chats” over the next few months. The first one is going to be on “Media Coverage of Charities and Fundraising Rules”. The description is “The media has recently…