CRA recently released a letter discussing the required retention period, according to the Income Tax Act (Canada) for the books and records of a corporation (non-profits and registered charities), including the required retention period for a corporation that has dissolved. …
CRA recently released a letter which discussed whether the lottery income received by a non-profit organization (the 'Association') is subject to taxation in the hands of the Association. The Association provided funding for physical and recreational activities. The Association obtained its funding from…
The Hudson Institute has recently released The Index of Philanthropic Freedom 2015. The survey looked at 64 countries and “Through these expert opinion surveys, in-depth information was collected on three main indicators: 1) ease of registering and operating civil society…
In Rae v. Canada (National Revenue), 2015 FC 707 (CanLII), Ms. Rose Marie Joan Rae had invested in what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme”. She filed her 2013 tax return in 2014 and has yet to receive…
On March 26, 2015, Rick Stewart, Assistant Commissioner, Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch, of the Canada Revenue Agency, made a presentation to the Finance Committee on terrorism. Here are some excerpts of the presentation. We're here to discuss the…
The CRA in May 2015 updated their guide Registering a Charity for Income Tax Purposes T4063(E). The Guide is the main source of information from CRA to assist the public with charity applications. The main change between the 2013 version of…
Recently the IRS has released an adverse determination letter dealing with discretion and control over grants to foreign organizations by an “American Friends of …” organization. What is interesting, but certainly not new, is the US requirements for “discretion and control”…
The House of Commons Finance Committee has announced the 2015 pre-budget consultations. Charities interested in making submissions to the Finance Committee should review their recent press release. Submissions should be dealing with certain themes and no longer than 2,000 words.…
CRA recently released a letter that discusses the tax implications of an affordable housing provider (an entity described in paragraph 149(1)(l) of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”)) that wanted to provide long-term leasing of its parking spots to a business owned…
Here is an article entitled Canadian Charities Conducting International Activities (2015). It will be of interest to Canadian charities that are, or considering, operating outside of Canada.
Over 5000 Canadian registered charities operate outside of Canada and they cumulatively spend around $3 billion per year on foreign activities. The Fundamentals of International Activities by Canadian Registered Charities is a 1/2 day presentation with charity lawyer Mark Blumberg which…
The involvement of charities in political activities has been a major story since 2012. The 2012 Federal Budget introduced new reporting requirements for charities for 2013 but does not fundamentally affect the ability of charities to engage in political activities.…
I was delighted to present as part of a panel at the Université de Montréal Charity Law Conference 2015 on May 8, 2015. The panel was entitled The Modern Charities Regulator and my presentation was entitled “Overview of the Regulatory Environment in Canada…
The Bottom Line recently published an article entitled Ontario non-profits await new legislation by Mark Blumberg. The article discusses options for Ontario non-profits including waiting for ONCA or moving forward to the new CNCA and skipping ONCA altogether. The Bottom Line…
I made an access to information request of the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CPERB) a few years back to ask about documents relating to the use of CPERB as part of abusive charity gifting tax schemes and also…
In a decision on April 9, 2015 in the Federal court The Honourable Madam Justice Mactavish dealt with an issue of whether The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (Canada) (“IRFAN”) could use funds to pay past and future legal…
CBC recently reported in an article “Giving Tree Foundation to be stripped of charity status: Charity that gives $2M a year to children's causes faces demise after tax review“. CBC notes “The group has a relationship with EquiGenesis Corp., a company…
In a recent Toronto Star article entitled “Critics say Fraser Institute letter highlights ‘enormous lack of clarity’ in charity-audit rules” the Toronto Star discusses a letter from the Fraser Institute to supporters. The article raises some interesting points but I…
CRA has recently released an updated Information Sheet on GST/HST Guidelines for Charities. The Information Sheet provides basic information on how the GST/HST applies to many issues commonly faced by charities and replaces the previous Information Sheet from June 2011. CRA has also released…
There have been a large number of articles discussing the transparency of the Clinton Foundation and gaps or mistakes in their filings. Here is an article from the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bloomberg News. Here is a response…
Properly issuing official donation receipts has been challenging for many registered charities. According to the CRA, 89% of registered charities that are audited are not correctly issuing official donation receipts. Issuing incorrect receipts can result in revocation or penalties. It…
Blumbergs will be holding a half-day seminar on May13, 2015, Fundamentals of Employment Law for Charities and Non-Profits from 9AM-12PM. This seminar covers the pitfalls associated with employment law that can result in costly problems for charities and not-for-profit…
As many have noted the Ontario budget was not that exciting. There is one sentence on ONCA hidden at the end of a paragraph on business modernization. “As an early priority, the government will take steps to enable the proclamation…
We have blogged about the CRA Program Update 2015 separately but wanted to focus here on what the update provides in terms of information on the political activity audits of CRA's Charities Directorate. CRA should be commended for publishing a…