Fundraising by Charities – CRA does not mean Business By C.Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. The CRA has not changed its position on fundraising by charities. The new and improved Fundraising by Registered Charities Guidance, CG-013 issued by the CRA on April 20, 2012, is still their last word on the subject. However, some charities still need […]
The Friction Factor
The Friction Factor By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. 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 […]
Religious Organizations Under Attack
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS UNDER ATTACK? by: C.Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. 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 […]
Check Those Receipts
CHECK THOSE RECEIPTS By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. In Alberta, and potentially in some of the other provinces that have regulated fundraising, there may already be confusion about receipts issued by entities referred to as “charitable organizations”. Now, potentially because of the new super credit that was announced for first time donors in the Federal […]
Good for the Goose, Not Apparently for the Gander
Good For The Goose, But Not Apparently For The Gander By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C For the last few years all registered Canadian charities have had to list compensation information on Schedule 3 of their T3010 registered charity information return. Not only is the total compensation amount for all employees shown, charities have had to […]
CRA Helps Canadian Find the Right Charity
CRA HELPS CANADIAN FIND THE “RIGHT” CHARITY C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. In 2012 the Canada Revenue Agency, Charities Directorate created “quick view”, a graphic display of the information presented by a charity on their annual T3010 form. Now, in 2013 the CRA is tweeting about and otherwise promoting the existence of this quick view presentation […]
CRTs are Alive and Well
CRTs are alive and well in Canada. at least at the CRA Rulings Directorate C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. Over the past decade there have been many positive changes relating to the tax treatment of charitable donations such as the full capital gain exemption with regard to publicly traded securities. These changes, by all accounts, have […]
Fitting a Square Peg in a Round Hole
Fitting a Square Peg into a Round Hole by C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. Anyone who has submitted a T2050 application for charitable status and has been rejected by the Canada Revenue Agency Charities Directorate knows the process can be quite frustrating. We spend hours with our clients to fine tune their documents and research the […]
Social Enterprise
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE – THE MOVEMENT By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. In October I attended the Sixth Annual Social Enterprise World Forum in my home town of Calgary. Over a thousand enthusiasts from dozens of countries were also there. Past world forums were held in Edinburgh Scotland, Melbourne Australia, San Francisco USA, Johannesburg South Africa and […]
The CRA is Making a List and You Should Check it Twice
The CRA is making a list and you should check it twice by C. Yvonne Chenier Q.C. Budget 2011 seems a long time ago, as does January 1, 2012 when some of propositions of that budget came into force. One of the interesting provisions that the charitable sector had lots of warning of but little […]