The Federal Department of Canadian Heritage a few years ago did a “Summative Evaluation of the Movable Cultural Property Program” in which it discusses the program, its relevance and concerns about the program. While there is no doubt that many…
The US National Centre for Charitable Statistics has some good cautions on the use of US data Form 990 data that I recently noted. Similar issues apply here in Canada with the T3010 so I have reproduced the sections below.…
CRA has released a ‘Charities Media Kit’ which is now available on its website at the CRA Newsroom Page at
CRA has published the Director General’s speech that was presented at the Canadian Bar Association’s National Charity Law Symposium in May by Cathy Hawara. Here is a link to the speech: Director General Cathy Hawara’s speech at the National Charity…
CRA recently released a letter which gives CRA’s views on providing advance tax rulings in respect of leveraged donation arrangements. Following the recent Maréchaux decision and the CRA audits of leveraged donation arrangements, there have been concerns raised regarding the…
The Excise and GST/HST Rulings Directorate of the CRA released a ruling in March regarding the application of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in determining whether an entity is a non-profit organization. The GST/HST Rulings Directorate…
This new CRA guidance will be of interest to organizations that deal with youth and are interested in charitable status or are currently registered charities. Here is a link to the Guidance: Charitable Purposes and Activities that Benefit Youth
The Vancouver Sun has published an article entitled “Behind the Rick Hansen Foundation”. In the article investigative reporter David Baines discusses financial matters and fundraising by the Rick Hansen Foundation. Here is the article “Behind the Rick Hansen Foundation”
David Baines recently retired from the Vancouver Sun. He will be missed. He was prepared to cover stories that others were not. He notes “I learned that it takes money, not just to publish stories, but also to defend them.…
Many Aboriginal groups or bands either currently receive or could receive funding from Canadian charities and foundations. Some of these Aboriginal groups who are receiving funding do so on account of their special status of being a “municipal or public…
The CRA has just released its new process for recognizing “municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada”. Here is a PDF OF THE ARTICLE This will be of particular interest to Aboriginal bands, school boards and…
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has overturned a Tax Court of Canada (TCC) decision in Guindon. The FCA found that, in this case in which no notice of constitutional questions was served by Guindon, “the Tax Court did not…
In March 2013 we published the “Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot 2011”. Now here is Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot for 2010 which will allow those who are interested to compare the 2010 and 2011 snapshots. Download Article
In March 2013 we published the “Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot 2011”. Now here is Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot for 2010 which will allow those who are interested to compare the 2010 and 2011 snapshots.
A final report entitled “Evaluation of the Tax Policy Branch” has been prepared by the Internal Audit and Evaluation of the Dept. of Finance. Those interested in tax policy may find it interesting. Here is a copy of the report: …
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…