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 […]
Sticking to your Knitting: and other fascinating facts about diapers
By: C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. Charitable food banks have been in the news lately. In Europe, the Government of France passed laws to stop supermarkets from throwing away food and instead making them donate it to charities and food banks. In California, where there is a sales tax on disposable diapers, a proposed bill […]
CRA releases infograph to assist Charities with annual filings
By: Sukhdeep Singh Sembi The continued effort to simplify correspondence to taxpayers from the CRA has recently resulted in the agency publishing an infograph to help charities understand when their annual filings are due. Charities must file the T3010 information return within six months of its fiscal year-end. The process is slightly more complicated when […]
Beware of Operating Contrary to Public Policy
By: Adam Aptowitzer News that Canada will legalize physician assisted death has prompted many publicly funded hospitals with Catholic ties to publicly state that they will not allow the practice in their hospitals. Their position is similar to the one they hold on abortion. The whole discussion is reminiscent of the stance many Catholic (and non-Catholic) […]
CRA Answers Questions about Non-Profits
By: Arthur Drache A recent ruling letter from the CRA[1]dealt with a host of scenarios revolving around the use of surplus funds in non-profits organizations (not charities).to determine if a benefit to members result from the use of an accumulated surplus under various scenarios. We should note that nothing in the Income Tax Act prevents […]
Supporting Syrian Refugees: Public Benefit or Private Benevolence
Supporting Syrian Refugees: Public Benefit or Private Benevolence By: Karen Cooper With the recent focus in the media and among grassroots organizations, many Canadians are supporting or thinking about supporting the settlement of Syrian refugees to Canada. Oftentimes they are doing so with the direct or indirect involvement of registered charities that may, or may […]
Why some charities lost their status in 2015
Why some charities lost their status in 2015. By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. Every year the charitable registration status of a few charitable organizations, public foundations, private foundations or Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations is officially revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). That means that the organization can no longer issue official donation receipts and […]
Angels We Have Heard On High
By C. Yvonne Chenier Last year at this time I was dreaming of sugarplums obviously when I ended my December 2014 article with hope for legislative reform to reduce red tape and help our charity and not for profit clients. Then on budget night in the early months of 2015, I was disappointed as it […]
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 Releases 2015 Charities Program Update
By Tanya Carlton The CRA recently released its 2015 Charities Program Update.[1] According to Cathy Hawara, the Director General of the CRA’s Charities Directorate, the purpose of the Update is to promote transparency in regards to the programs of the CRA and the diverse activities of the charitable sector. The Update focuses on five main topics: […]