January 2012
The CRA has published Charity Connection No. 11 on the 2011 Federal Budget. The publication highlights some of the major changes for registered charities, RCAAAs and other qualified donees. There will be more information on certain other budgetary provisions in the near future such as the “ineligible individual” provisions..
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/24/2012 |
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Ontario tax litigator, Natalie Worsfold, has an interesting blog called “Trouble with Taxes”. She has a page on the GLGI gifting arrangement. Of particular note is the lengthy PDF of court documents.
The CRA has revoked for cause “Word of Christ Ministry” and “Hope Church of God Deliverance Ministries” for involvement in promoted charity schemes.
On January 23, 2012 the National Post published an article entitled “Judge OKs suit against charity tax ‘scheme’” by Joseph Brean which discusses a class action lawsuit against various parties relating to the “Donations for Canada Gift Program”.
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/18/2012 |
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On February 9, 2012 I will be delivering a webinar entitled “Successfully funding First Nations communities in Canada in compliance with CRA guidance” along with The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network and the Charity Law Information Program. For more information or to register see the link below.
The first class action lawsuit involving what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme” has settled at a Settlement and Class Counsel Fee Approval Hearing that was held on January 17, 2012 in Toronto. The material for that hearing is on the Scarfone Hawkins website and is quite interesting reading providing lots of interesting details about the scheme. Here is announcement from the Plaintiff’s lawyers Scarfone Hawkins LLP.
Ken Berger, the President & Chief Executive Officer, of the US charity watch dog group Charity Navigator will speaking at the CLIP conference “Being Good at Doing Good” on the subject of “The Battle for Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector”.
Lois G. Lerner, the Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service will be speaking at the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) Conference “Being Good at Doing Good” in Toronto, which is taking place on February 13 and 14th. http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ As head of the Exempt Organizations Division she is responsible for the regulation of US charities or exempt organizations including registration, education, and compliance. She will be giving two presentations - one focusing on why regulators care about governance and the second on top compliance issues for US charities. We will also have speakers from the CRA and Charity Commission of England and Wales and other experts in charity governance, financial controls and compliance.
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/17/2012 |
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The Toronto Star’s Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, who frequently covers the charitable sector, will be presenting at the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) conference “Being Good at Doing Good”. Increasingly the media has been focusing on charities and certain hot button issues. Those involved with charity governance, financial management and communications will find his comments very useful.
There has been a little political firestorm last week over US foundations funding of certain Canadian environmental charities. So how much revenue actually comes to Canada from foreign countries including the US? The answer seems to be about $831 million. That is from Line 4575 “Total revenue received from all sources outside Canada”. If you are interested in who got what then read on.
On December 21, 2011 the Department of Finance announced a consultation on “updating Canada’s regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.” They also put out a consultation paper, “Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti‑Terrorist Financing Regime,” which contains a number of proposals, a couple of which relate to charities. The deadline for submitting comments is March 1, 2012. The two proposals relating to charities are pretty minor - first for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to share information with CRA Charities Directorate on seizure reports when they seize forfeited currency. Second, the Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (“Fintrac”) already provides disclosure to CRA but such disclosure may be more proactive. These recommendations will facilitate the Charities Directorate having greater awareness of potential money laundering or terrorist activities that could potentially involve charities.
In a Globe and Mail article entitled “Foes of Northern Gateway pipeline fear revocation of charitable status” there is a discussion of recent issues raised about foreign funding on Canadian charities and political activities of Canadian charities.
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/09/2012 |
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There are 24 Registered National Arts Services Organization (RNASO) in Canada.
Here are some upcoming Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) seminars which I will be presenting across Canada. The format will be a morning discussing the 2011 Budget provisions for charities, some information on the new Federal Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and a detailed discussion of fundraising regulations in Canada. The afternoon will focus on The Dos and Don’ts of Charitable Receipting.
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/08/2012 |
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The Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) has just released the Receipting Kit for Canadian Registered Charities. The kit is 25 pages long and provides an overview of what a registered charity needs to generally know about receipting. As well, there is an attachment which is about 115 pages long with CRA guidance on receipting and even a CRA auditor checklist on receipting.
Here is a copy of a recent presentation on CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance.
Minister of International Cooperation, Bev Oda, announced on December 23, 2011 the results of the Call for Proposals process of the Partnerships with Canadian branch. 53 organizations received about $142 million in total commitments.
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/05/2012 |
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The CRA has revised its Pamphlet “Gifts and Income Tax P113(E) Rev. 11” to reflect recent budget changes including reducing the incentives for packaged flow through donation schemes and other provisions from the 2011 Federal Budget.
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/04/2012 |
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There are a few hundred foreign universities (ie. universities outside of Canada) that can issue Canadian official donation receipts and are therefore “qualified donees” similar to registered charities. The list of these universities was hidden on page 1550 of a regulation to the Income Tax Act. Now the list will be more easy to access on the Charities Directorate website.
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/04/2012 |
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The CRA will be preparing a list of “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada”. These “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada” are qualified donees and can issue official donation receipts for gifts to them. CRA has noted on their website: “As a result of Budget 2011, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada must apply to be added to a list maintained by the CRA to become or continue to be qualified donees. We are currently developing the process by which these bodies must apply. Meanwhile, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government continue to be qualified donees until the application process is finalized. At that time, these bodies will have to apply to maintain this status.” As new information becomes available we will post it on our website.
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/04/2012 |
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Canadian municipalities can issue official donation receipts similar to registered charities. Sometimes it is not clear whether a group is considered to be a municipality. In the past you would have to call CRA or write to them to verify whether a township, town, county, etc. was a municipality. As a result of changes in the 2011 Federal Budget, CRA was allowed to release a list of municipalities. The list is prepared by province. Currently the municipalities are all listed as of 2012-01-01. If a municipality is involved with inappropriate conduct like issuing incorrect receipts they can be suspended or delisted. Municipalities need to be careful about how they issue receipts.
Posted by
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The CRA has released a list of RCAAAs revoked for various reasons including for cause, failure to file their annual return, or voluntary revocation.
Posted by
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The CRA has published a list of registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs). Very interesting to see the names of RCAAAs and also those that were deregistered over the last few years. There are currently about 119 RCAAAs. CRA was only allowed to publish this list after changes introduced in the 2011 Federal budget to increase transparency in the charity/qualified donee sector.
The 2011 Federal Budget received Royal Assent on December 16, 2011. There were a number of changes that affect charities, RCAAAs and other types of qualified donees that were in the budget.
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/03/2012 |
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Here is an interesting article on transparency in the Chinese charitable sector. “Charities will lose public credibility without transparency,” said one researcher. It is interesting to note that in one scandal involving the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the ” the scandal led to an 86.6-percent drop in donations to national charity organizations over the following six months”. It appears that the Chinese government is taking steps to bring in greater transparency.
December 2011
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/27/2011 |
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Here is a great piece by Katherine Van Kooy in the Calgary Herald entitled ‘Charity rankings often don’t tell the full story’. Katherine van Kooy is the president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO).
Posted by
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/27/2011 |
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Here is the CRA’s Annual Report to Parliament for 2010-2011. It is 173 pages long. There are a number of references to charities which I have reproduced below.
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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/21/2011 |
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Scarfone Hawkins LLP has announced that a there is a settlement of the Banyan Tree class action lawsuit, subject to court approval. On their website they state: “Settlement of Action This action has been settled. The settlement is subject to court approval. A court approval hearing will take place on January 17, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. at 361 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. The settlement agreement and distribution plan will be published here prior to the hearing date.” This was the first class action lawsuit brought in the area of the “abusive charity gifting tax schemes”. On the Scarfone Hawkins website there is a lot of interesting detail and background including an FAQ.
It is the time of year that many are thinking about and giving to charity. The Federal government sent out a press release stating “We encourage Canadians to donate generously but also to do their homework to ensure that the funds they donate will be put to good use.” I cannot emphasize enough the importance of avoiding charity schemes or investments that promise you tax savings greater than the amount of your investment and also doing your due diligence on the charity that you are donating to. You might find a new micro-site I am working on helpful - http://www.smartgiving.ca
