A recent ruling from the CRA dealing with the “Loanback Provisions” of the Income Tax Act as they affect charities will be of some interest. The ruling was in response to a written request for CRA views regarding the application of the loanback provisions found in subsection 118.1(16) of the Income Tax Act to two […]
Alter Ego Trust and Donations
At the National Convention of STEP held in Toronto in June of this year, there was a roundtable with the CRA and one of the questions will have importance to some planners with regard to donations for an alter ego trust to a charity. This is always a highly technical issue and we are reproducing […]
Supporting Non-Profit Journalism
Supporting Non-Profit Journalism By Arthur Drache As had been promised last year, the Government has moved on it undertaking to support non-profit journalism…a promise which had been viewed as contentious in some circles. But as we had predicted, the mechanism to implement this scheme was to create a new category of qualified donees. The key […]
Fall Economic Update Addresses Sectoral Issues
The economic statement tabled by Finance Minister Morneau on November 22 had a couple of welcome announcements which will touch on at least certain parts of the sector. But there was very little detail available about implementation and we suspect that we’ll have to await the next federal Budget to get those details. The Social […]
Relief of Poverty: Where are the Lines?
One of the clearest items of charity law is that action for the relief of poverty are considered to be charitable.[1] But the ongoing problem for many charities is to try to identify an income level which can be used as a measure of who is poor. This is not always an easy task as […]
Horses for Courses
One of the most important aspects of operating a non-profit is to have a board which can give direction to the organization. Without being comprehensive in terms of board duties, it must set policy, manage investments, handle personnel issues, raise funds and make strategic decisions, both long term and short term. But it should […]
Ontario Court Holds that Political Activities Restrictions Violates Charter Rights
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 […]
Withholding of Tax on Donation of Shares Acquired Through Stock Option Exercises
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 […]
Determination of Tax Treatment on Gift of Securities by Executors of Will
By: Arthur Drache A recently published technical interpretation from the CRA [1] gives some answers to always vexing questions about the tax treatment of gifts to charities made by executors under a will. It deals with three possible scenarios. The querying letter described a basic scenario whereby a taxpayer (the “deceased”) died in 2016. His […]
Directors’ Liability for Source Deductions
By: Arthur Drache The recent melt-down of the world-wide equity markets may have a negative impact on charities which are (were?) fortunate enough to have substantial investments, particularly where income from those investments is used to fund the charitable activities on an ongoing basis. But if there is a cash squeeze, directors should be aware […]