We have previously blogged about the decision of the Tax Court of Canada in David, R. et al. v. the Queen (TCC) (here and here). In this decision, the court allowed the appeals of the respondents relating to tax credits that had…
CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether a park qualifies as a municipal or public body performing a function of government for purposes of 149(1)(c) of the Act and the definition of a qualified donee in subsection 149.1(1). CRA determined that the…
There is a small category of qualified donees called “registered foreign charitable organizations that have received a gift from Her Majesty in right of Canada”. Qualified donees are groups that can issue official donation receipts under the Income Tax Act…
On November 9, 2015 I will be presenting a program for the Ontario Bar Association, along with Nevena Urosevic, on Top Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities. It is available both in-person and by webcast. Here is the blurb and information on registration: Top…
In the US there has been a dramatic increase in the number of non-profits over the last few years. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written a short article citing a forthcoming report which outlines how state regulators have not increased their…
In the case Mariano v. The Queen 2015 TCC 244 the Honourable Justice F.J. Pizzitelli reviewed in great detail the Global Learning Trust (2004) and the Global Learning Gift Initiative (GLGI) program. These programs are what CRA calls abusive charity gifting tax schemes. For those…
The “All My Relations Gathering: Innovation Emerging from Tradition” conference will be taking place in Winnipeg this year on November 17-18, 2015. Here is information on the conference from the Circle: The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada…
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently published a new guidance on Implied Consent under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) entitled “From Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) Guidance on Implied Consent” (the “Guidance”). The Guidance will be helpful for charities in…
We have prepared as part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project this Snapshot on Political Activities in the Canadian Charity Sector 2013. The Snapshot on Political Activities in the Canadian Charity Sector 2013 will be helpful to those who are interested in…
CRA recently revoked the Christian Economic Assistance Foundation. Here are the revocation letters for Christian Economic Assistance Foundation. Here are some excerpts from the CRA letters: “School Support Program The School Support Program is the main program ·of the Organization. The…
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recently released a guide entitled Best Practices on Combating the Abuse of Non-Profit Organizations. FATF is an important international inter-governmental group “that develops and promotes policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering,…
Corporations Canada announced today that it will be offering two new online services for non-profits under the CNCA. It will now be possible for CNCA corporations to file by-laws and financial statements with Corporations Canada through the Online Filing Centre. Business Corporations will…
The CPA Ontario's Not-For-Profit Finance Leadership Day will be held on November 12, 2015 in Toronto. Mark Blumberg will be doing a session entitled: Legal Update: Top Compliance Concerns for Finance and IT Professionals in the Non-profit Sector Mark Blumberg,…
Here is an agenda for the Blumbergs' Charity Law Institute 2015. You can register here.
The Trinity Global Support Foundation was recently revoked. It received some media attention because of the involvement of the former mayor of London, Ontario in the charity. Here are the letters from CRA explaining the detailed reasons for revocation of…
CRA recently revoked the registration of Canadian Friends of Pearl Children. Here are the CRA letters to the charity. According to CRA the organization issued over $167 million in inappropriate official donation receipts. On July 20, 2015 I blogged about the…
Here are the CRA letters from a number of recent Canadian registered charity revocations, annulments and penalties. These letters from CRA cover many different grounds for de-registration or the imposition of penalties. For a number of years we have been…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has published a useful guidance entitled “Charity tax reliefs: guidance on Charity Commission policy”. The Charity Commission notes: Charity trustees are under a fiduciary duty to act exclusively in the best interests of…
We are compiling a list of Canadian cases dealing with charities, gifting and related issues. Let us know if you have any other suggestions: 1996-04-01 Briarpatch Inc. v. Canada 1996-07-08 Vancouver Regional FreeNet Assn. v. M.N.R. (C.A.), [1996] 3 F.C.…
Ontario not-for-profit corporations will have 3 years from the date ONCA comes into force to make any necessary changes to their governing documents. At end of the 3 years, the not-for-profit corporations’ letters patent, by-laws and special resolutions will be…
To determine whether your corporation is an Ontario corporation you should check the corporation’s Letters Patent and any Supplementary Letters Patent. If you are unable to locate them, you may wish to check our list of Ontario corporations to see…
Over the last few years we have helped many Ontario non-profit corporations obtain copies of their governing documents. If you wish to do it yourself you can request microfiche copies of your governing documents from the Ontario Ministry of Government…
Since ONCA has not come into force yet and no regulations have been released, it is a bit premature to prepare ONCA compliant by-laws now. ONCA compliant by-laws may not necessarily be compliant with the Ontario Corporations Act (“OCA”), which…
ONCA will apply to most not-for-profit corporations in Ontario, including special or private act corporations. There are about 59,000 of these corporations. However, it will not apply to not-for-profit corporations that are incorporated under special or private acts where there is…