By: Kara Johnson Employers who don’t want to seem like Scrooge and instead partake in a gift-giving spirit, might want to be aware of potential payroll tax implications. The law clearly taxes benefits provided by an employer to an employee in the context of their work relationship. However, that relationship may also be fertile ground […]
Unpaid Pledges
By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC Several recent articles in the Globe and Mail dealt with the apparent failure of some major donors to honour pledges made in conjunction with the expansion of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. A Globe and Mail investigation[1] showed the Royal Ontario Museum is still owed $23 million in unpaid […]
Balancing Confidence and Flexibility in Gift Planning
By Adam Aptowitzer One of the unstated pillars of gift planning is to find ways of assuring a donor that his/her wishes will be carried out after death. Unfortunately, this can be a double-edged sword. While it may help convince a donor to give now the future needs of a charity can be difficult to […]
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 […]
New Hope For Taxpayers Caught in Charitable Donation Tax Shelter Schemes
New Hope For Taxpayers Caught in Charitable Donation Tax Shelter Schemes by Alexandra Tzannidakis In November 2012, the Tax Court of Canada added an interesting new twist to the epic story of Canada Revenue Agency versus tax shelters with its decision in Berg v The Queen. The story is an old one. Every year, many […]
Employee Directed Gift to A Charity
Employee Directed Gift to a Charity by Arthur Drache Making a charitable donation in honour of or in memory of a third party is of course a common event. In such a case, the donor will normally get a receipt for tax purposes and the charity will arrange for the fact of the donation to […]
Adhering to Gift Terms
Adhering to Gift Terms By Arthur Drache, C.M. Q.C. Virtually every major gift to a charity carries with it some level of terms, most commonly with regard to the use. The more valuable the gift the more likely that the gift agreement will spell out in great detail the terms of use. When one makes […]