By: Arthur Drache In mid-July, Mr. Justice Ed Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice determined that the Income Tax Act legislation and the CRA’s administrative practices relating to political activities of charities was contrary to the Charter of Rights when restrictions were applied to the (non-party partisan) political activities of charities.[1] The decision […]
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis With the Ontario general election coming up on June 7, registered charities should take a moment to review the restrictions on political activities. It is key to remember that registered charities are totally prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities. They can only engage in non-partisan political activities, and only to a limited extent. […]
By: Adam Aptowitzer For many years tax and charity professionals calculated the after tax cost of a donation based on certain principles. One of those principles was that, at the top brackets both Federally and Provincially, the credit for the donation offset the tax owing for a dollar of income earned and then donated. As […]
By: C. Yvonne Chenier The title for the mid-day address of the Canadian Bar Association Charity Law Annual Symposium is usually the “CRA Comes to Lunch”. Lunch is served before we hear from the Director General, Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency. At the May 11, 2018, Symposium, the morning sessions focussed on revisiting the meaning […]
The following question was asked of the CRA by the Tax Executive Institute in connection with its December 5, 2017 liaison meeting with CRA representatives. If the CRA is ultimately unwilling to provide the administrative concession described in the question below[1], would the Department of Finance be willing to consider a legislative amendment to the […]
Floods and fires and tragic accidents keep hitting close to home in the West. Ice storms and power outages and horrific weather causing vehicle pile-ups are happening in the East. Any of these terrible events could involve volunteers, staff or service users of a charity or not-for-profit organization. As these incidents play out on national […]
Last week, 14 environmental charities met with Finance Minister Bill Morneau to discuss promised changes to the political activities restrictions on charities, and they appear to have come away worried. The federal Liberals campaigned in 2015 on a promise of reforming the stringent political activity limitations that had led to widespread audits of charities under […]
By: Adam Aptowitzer For many years the Income Tax Act contained a method by which certain foreign universities could attain ‘qualified donee’ status in Canada. That standing effectively amounted to being a Canadian registered charity. This allowed Canadian donors a tax credit for donations to these schools, and for Canadian charities to transfer funds directly […]
By: Adam Aptowitzer In our review of Budget 2018, we made some comments related to the concept of prescribed universities. Readers may recall that the Income Tax Act has, for many years, contained an allowance that certain foreign universities would be considered as qualified donees in Canada (akin to registered charities) if they met certain […]
By: Kara Johnson Receipt Requirement Change In our January (2018) newsletter, we highlighted the importance of charities producing receipts for charitable donations that conform to the requirements of the law for proper receipting. Justice Campbell Miller reiterated the seriousness of a failure to comply with the Regulations of the Income Tax Act in Madamidola v. […]