Calgary Flames fans were riling up Edmontonians this January by fundraising for a billboard ad in the Edmonton Oilers’ turf featuring a Flames player. An Edmonton woman came up with a charmingly Canadian response to the show of friendly rivalry between the two Albertan hockey teams’ fans. She made a donation to a Calgary-based charity […]
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 […]
Wine(ing) About Donations
By: Adam Aptowitzer A recently released decision of the Tax Court of Canada illustrates some of the problems with donations of gifts in kind and their valuation. Donors typically accept the valuation on receipts as accurate. For donations of cash this is not a problem – particularly where the donation is one of cash. However, […]
An Update to the Tax Donation Rate Schedule
By: Adam Aptowitzer For many years tax and charity professionals calculated the after tax cost of a donation based on certain principles. One of those principles was that, at the top brackets both Federally and Provincially, the credit for the donation offset the tax owing for a dollar of income earned and then donated. As […]
Receipt Issuing and Donor Goodwill
By: Arthur Drache Each year in January and February we review our list of charitable donations made and start checking to see whether we have received receipts for the donations. Over the years we have found that inevitably there will be some problems though generally the issuing of receipts has become more expeditious with the […]
Planned Giving Donors Should Make Sure Strings Are Attached
By Adam Aptowitzer Planned giving has been an issue of interest to the charitable sector for several years. The enthusiasm by which the sector has taken up the discussion has permeated the donor community. As a result donations by will are a common occurrence. But if the donor does not monitor developments with the charity […]
Canadian/American Cross-Border Conservation Success
By Karen Cooper A rare potential conservation donation in Georgian Bay, Ontario, with a common potential environmental conservation tax barrier recently produced a successful gift and good news for taxpayers and land conservation organizations. The Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT) had an opportunity to protect an undeveloped island featuring undisturbed stands of White Pine and […]
Preparing for the “Big If”
By Adam Aptowitzer It is one of the more interesting aspects of practicing law that allows lawyers to consider the situation when two laws designed for different purposes intersect. Sometimes these differences can cause difficulties but when used creatively they, at times, can be the key to solving difficult problems. One such intersection involves a […]
The Evolving Law of Charitable Gifts
By Alexandra Tzannidakis, LL.B. The lack of a statutory definition of a “gift” has created ongoing problems between taxpayers and the Canada Revenue Agency in regards to charitable donation tax receipts. Ultimately, the various disputes that arise are settled by the courts, who in the process fulfil their common law role of whittling away at […]
Donations In Kind and Appropriate Due Diligence
By Mark S. Anshan Charities need to be vigilant when accepting donations in kind. These include any non-monetary items, such as art, rare books, equipment and materials, personal objects of value, real property and computer-related assets. Receiving such donations is quite acceptable, but only after proper due diligence and professional advice is sought and followed. […]