Predicting 2013: Thoughts About the Upcoming for Charities By: Adam Aptowitzer In the past we have sworn off predicting developments relating to the charity sector, but 2013 is somewhat different in that several projects that were begun earlier can be expected to mature in the coming 12 months. And so, with more confidence than in […]
New Canadian Anti-Spam Laws on the Horizon Back in 2010, Bill C-28 (Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam) was passed by Parliament and received royal assent. It was expected to come into force in 2012, but delays in drafting the regulations mean that 2012 has come and gone without a coming-into-force date having been announced [Update: […]
The Friction Factor An American suffragist (Frances E. Willard, 1839-1898) apparently once said: “The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum”. I am not sure exactly what she was referring to but she could easily have meant what some philanthropic clients refer to […]
T-3010: Mounting Complexity for Charities By Arthur Drache In the olden days, say a dozen or so years ago when the Voluntary Sector Initiative was still underway one of the objects was to simplify the annual report requirements for registered charities. Indeed, serious discussions were held about either exempting small charities altogether or devising a […]
Feeling Duped into Donating: Can You Be Protected? By Brent Randall At his pinnacle, Lance Armstrong was one of the most famous athletes in the world and the most dominant professional cyclist ever. His popularity at the time, and his personal story of overcoming cancer, inspired many to contribute to the charity he founded, the […]
Charitable Receipting Can be a Charity’s Achilles Heel By Adam Aptowitzer In Greek mythology Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. Although mortal when born, the goddess Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. Ostensibly to ensure he did not drown, she held him by the heel […]
New Hope For Taxpayers Caught in Charitable Donation Tax Shelter Schemes In November 2012, the Tax Court of Canada added an interesting new twist to the epic story of Canada Revenue Agency versus tax shelters with its decision in Berg v The Queen. The story is an old one. Every year, many Canadian taxpayers are […]
Foreign Bribery Rules Will Now Apply to NGOs By Arthur Drache C.M., Q.C. One might be forgiven if the announcement that the government is tightening up the legislation Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) dealing with bribery of foreign officials was moved to the front burner because of a couple of high profile cases […]
Market for Art is Subject to Unparalleled Sources of Ambiguity By Brent Randall Last month, sculptures once thought to have been created by Michelangelo failed to sell at auction. The pieces, originally appraised at $31 million, were found by experts to actually have been the work of Johan Gregor van der Schardt, and therefore “only” […]
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS UNDER ATTACK? In the past few weeks three or four legal decisions or news items have caught my attention. I do not know if it is a trend or not but it seems that more facets of the operations of religious organizations have been the subject of greater scrutiny in recent months. The […]