By: Adam Aptowitzer People always complain about the tax laws being way too complex but you know things are bad when even the tax lawyers are losing track of the most fundamental elements of the law. And what could be a more fundamental element of income tax then knowing the right percentage to apply to […]
By: Adam Aptowitzer News that Canada will legalize physician assisted death has prompted many publicly funded hospitals with Catholic ties to publicly state that they will not allow the practice in their hospitals. Their position is similar to the one they hold on abortion. The whole discussion is reminiscent of the stance many Catholic (and non-Catholic) […]
By: Arthur Drache A recent ruling letter from the CRA[1]dealt with a host of scenarios revolving around the use of surplus funds in non-profits organizations (not charities).to determine if a benefit to members result from the use of an accumulated surplus under various scenarios. We should note that nothing in the Income Tax Act prevents […]
By: Arthur Drache The charities sector has been atwitter about the Liberal promises to re-examine the issue of political activities.1 There has been an assumption by some that the whole issue had its genesis in the perception that the Harper government was targeting ”progressive” organizations, notably those which seemed to espouse polices which were contrary […]
On January 29th, Finance Minister Bill Morneau moved to have the Liberal government’s Bill C-2[1] of proposed tax changes undergo second reading in the House of Commons. This bill proposes to reduce the second personal income tax rate from 22% to 20.5% and introduce a new top marginal rate of 33% for income over $200,000 […]
By: Adam Aptowitzer The Income Tax Act is known for its complexity, but even with that reputation, sometimes the drafters surpass themselves. The provisions enacted from Budget 2014 changing the way Canadians are taxed at death (as opposed to the more usual taxed to death) is a case in point. Given the complexity it was […]
After a few years of a chill being felt in the charitable sector, things may be thawing out a bit, in early January no less. The CRA has recently issued a news release titled “Minister Lebouthillier announces winding down of the political activities audit program for charities”. This is the first response of what we […]
We find that many non profit clients have recently requested assistance with updating their By-laws and drafting policy manuals that cover off a wide array of policies that need not nor should be in the By-laws. As well, we notice that many non profit organizations have not reviewed their governance structure and procedures for many […]
By: Arthur Drache As the Liberals promised in their election campaign, they have effectively shut down the much maligned (rightly in our view) political activities audit programme which many believed was used to target organizations which were critical of the former government. The controversial program was launched with fanfare in the 2012 Conservative budget, with […]
New Tax Court Decision in Mattacchione: Intuitive But Unsettling By: Adam Aptowitzer In the still smoldering wreckage of the charitable donation tax shelters a new case has surfaced, which holds that the receipt itself could vitiate the entire gift. Those familiar with these strategies understand that the only reason most people participate in such plans […]