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, […]
Consultation on Political Activities of Charities
By: Arthur Drache Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has announced[1] that the CRA will collaborate with the Department of Finance to engage with charities to clarify the rules governing political activities. The online consultations are now open, and the in-person consultations which will be held in six cities across Canada will follow at a later […]
CRA ‘Control & Direction’ Rules Get Federal Court Bolster
By Alexandra Tzannidakis Anyone involved with a Canadian charity that operates internationally or sends funds abroad is probably intimately familiar with the considerable restrictions in this area. As with much of the law surrounding charities in Canada, the foreign activities rules are made up a small nucleus of actual statute law surrounded by an ever-growing […]
Transparency in the Charitable Sector
By C. Yvonne Chenier, QC Donors are happy and charities are sometimes amazed (and perhaps a bit skeptical) when told that anyone can amass information about charities without even picking up the phone to call the charities themselves. Besides a few private research services that gather information about charities, much pertinent information about any charity […]
CRA Policies Are Not Law
By Alexandra Tzannidakis The CRA’s Charities Directorate continually develops and updates a variety of policies and guidance for public consumption that are presumably predicated on their own internal policies. It has an extensive list of policies available online that are aimed at registered charities, voluntary sector professionals, and (according to its website) its own officers. […]