The ONN recently called for a delay in the implementation of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”) which is currently expected to be brought into force on January 1, 2013. I personally think that we should get on with the…
Recently the Department of Finance requested submissions on “Strengthening Canada’s AML and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime”. I sent in a submission that focussed specifically on the vulnerabilities of charities. Here is a copy of my submission on Strengthening Canada’s AML and…
The CRA recently sent a letter discussing the tax implications of a donor making a gift of a newly acquired life insurance policy to a registered charity. Here is a copy of the text in PDF of the CRA letter…
I will be speaking at the APRA conference on “Transparency in the Canadian Charity Sector – the T3010 and Beyond“ Transparency in the Canadian Charity Sector – the T3010 and Beyond Level: General Interest Presenters: Mark Blumberg, Partner, Blumberg Segal LLP…
The CRA has recently posted some questions and answers on the Non-Profit Organization Risk Identification Project, which reviews non-profit organizations that are not Canadian registered charities. Q1. What is a non-profit organization (NPO) as described in paragraph 149(1)(l) of…
Many charities in Canada have grappled with the issue of how to deal with the businesses. Should businesses just provide cash to charities? Should charities enter into sponsorship arrangements with business? How hard should charities work to engage with business? …
The CRA recently imposed a small penalty of about $9500 on The Riddell Family Charitable Foundation because it had not met its divestment obligation under the excess business holdings rules. Here is the full letter from the Charities Directorate to…
The CRA has announced new charity information sessions for September and October. Here is some information from the CRA website: Charities Information Sessions registration The Charities Information Sessions are offered to all registered charities. These free sessions are an…
The London Free press and other papers and bloggers have been writing about the involvement of the Mayor of London Ontario with a particular charity gifting tax scheme. The Mayor of London, Ontario, apparently has threatened to sue the papers…
In the US, unlike Canada, churches are not required to file the annual Form 990. The Economist just published an article ““The Catholic Church in America: Earthly concerns – The Catholic church is as big as any company in America.…
The new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) came into force October 17, 2011. Industry Canada has placed hundreds of pages of information on the new act on their website in over 70 different documents. We have tried to accumulate the…
I read an interesting US article entitled “Where Generosity and Pride Abide: Charitable Naming Rights” by William A. Drennan. It discusses the US IRS position on valuing naming rights and asks whether that position should change. Here is the conclusion…
Here is a CRA letter which discusses the dates and value to be used on official donation receipts for a bequest under will. Here is the CRA letter: “PRINCIPAL ISSUES: Clarification regarding the dates and value to be used on…
CRA recently put out a short press release on its Non-Profit Organization Risk Identification Project. This project applies to non-profits who are not registered charities under the Income Tax Act. CRA is looking at whether these non-profits are acting within…
In July 2011 the CRA imposed a penalty of $174,228.08 on the Reimer Express Foundation Inc, which is a Canadian private foundation based in Winnipeg. The penalties related to certain payments that CRA characterizes as gifts to non-qualified donees. Paul…
The Charities Directorate of the CRA has posted a page on CIDA’s Sahel Crisis Matching Fund. Here is a link to the CRA’s Sahel Crisis Matching Fund page Here is the text of the page: “Sahel Crisis Matching Fund…
The Canadian government is launching a matching program for donations made by Canadians to organizations from August 7 – September 30, 2012. CIDA notes: “An estimated 18.7 million people in the Sahel region in West Africa are affected by a…
The Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget submission deadline for the 2013 Canadian Federal Budget has passed. I put in a brief submission with a number of recommendations including: Recommendations: 1) We need better governance in the charity sector through education…
Statscan has put out some reports recently on charitable giving and volunteering as well as more specific reports on giving by immigrants and employer support of volunteering, Giving and volunteering among Canada’s immigrants by Derrick Thomas Release date: May…
In Edwards v. The Queen, 2012 TCC 264 (July 23, 2012) the Tax Court dealt with whether it would allow a further delay in hearing a test case related to what CRA terms an abusive gifting tax scheme. This case…
The CRA has released today a new Guidance CG-014, Community Economic Development Activities and Charitable Registration. It replaces Guide RC4143, Registered Charities: Community Economic Development Programs. This guidance is really important for those dealing with social enterprise issues. Here is…
If you take a look at a Canadian registered charity on the CRA Charities Directorate database you will note the option to click “Quick View” and it provides a better user interface to review certain information on the T3010. To…
The CRA has revoked the registered charity status of Friday’s Child International The main concern appears to be whether the activities were actually educational and therefore charitable and personal benefits of a director who was the chairperson. CRA notes: “Our…
The CRA recently revoked the registered charity Divine Faith and Deliverance Assembly. I note it as the reasons for revocations were refreshingly mundane and not extraordinary and many charities could learn from the issues Some of the non-compliance includes: Failing…