Ontario’s new Not-for-profit-Corporations Act (“ONCA”) is finally coming into effect on October 19, 2021, nearly a dozen fashionably-late years after it was first passed. The ONCA replaces an older act, the Ontario Corporations Act (“OCA”) which is over a century old and has become drastically outdated and out-paced by the more modern legislation modelled by […]
National Bill Seeks to Change Rules for Donating Shares and Real estate
One of the bills on Parliament’s table this session is C-256,[1] a private members’ bill sponsored by a Conservative MP from Manitoba. The bill is called “Act to amend the Income Tax Act (donations involving private corporation shares or real estate)” and it proposes the elimination of capital gains tax on the items in its […]
How Charitable Purposes Can Impact Your Property Taxes
Charitable and non-profit entities may receive a range of tax advantages, some of which can potentially be quite significant. One such advantage is a break on property taxes. In Ontario, the Assessment Act provides a full exemption from property tax to various charitable and non-profit outfits, including religious organizations, care homes, child care centres, cemeteries, […]
CHAMP is not a Winner
Over the past several years, the Charities Directorate has been enthusiastically anticipating some much-needed technological modernizations to its operations. On June 1, 2019, the Directorate finally rolled out online applications for charitable registration (Form T2050) and the annual charity returns (Form T3010), which had previously been paper-only. The new automated system, dubbed CHAMP, shows promise […]
“Social Impact Bonds” on the Rise in Canada
Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are an interesting part of the larger trend of ‘impact investing’ that has been rising in Canada and around the world in recent years. An SIB is essentially an investment model that allows a government to fund innovative social programs without having to risk its own assets up-front. The concept is […]
Where is Promised Progress on Political Activity Rules?
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 […]
Reporting Foreign Assets and Income to the Tax Man
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis Whether you have suddenly inherited a bank account overseas, or have owned foreign real estate for years, Canada requires you to report your foreign assets and income on your annual federal tax returns. Many people are wary of this portion of their return, thinking to themselves: why do they want to know? […]
Budget Day 2018 Brings Some Interesting News and Technical Fixes for Charities
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis The federal government’s 2018 Budget, tabled a little early this year on February 27, has few proposals that will affect charities and non-profits. But the ones it has are interesting and in some cases quite helpful. They are a combination of technical fixes, new investments, and indicators of future developments. Political Activities […]
It’s Giving Season: Tax Credits for Charitable Donations vs. Political Contributions
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis In the public mind, the idea of tax credits for giving to ‘good causes’ sometimes leads to confusion and conflation of charitable tax credits and political tax credits. The truth is that charities and political causes are legally very distinct concepts (there is no such thing as a political charity) and although […]
New CRA Guidance: Charitable Status for Internal Divisions
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis Many larger charities are structured in such a way that there is a head organization with subordinate divisions operating below it. For example, a charity that operates across the country may do so by way of local ‘chapters’ overseen by a main organization, or a religious governing body may have several related […]
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