March 22, 2024
CRA advises “Fugitive Brampton tax preparer caught and jailed for $34 million fraudulent charitable donation scheme”
Here is the press release from CRA: Fugitive Brampton tax preparer caught and jailed for $34 million fraudulent charitable donation scheme……
October 11, 2023
CRA has a new page encouraging taxpayers not to become involved in inappropriate tax schemes including those offered by some charities
CRA has a new page encouraging taxpayers not to become involved in inappropriate tax schemes, including those offered by some charities. The page is…
October 8, 2023
Canadian Charities cannot support terrorism or listed terrorist organizations
Just a reminder that Canadian charities are not allowed to support terrorism. Doesn’t matter whether you are Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish…
September 27, 2023
Chronicle of Philanthropy “With 200,000 Nonprofits Rated, the New Charity Navigator Aims High, Falls Short”
I don’t think I often meet people who, when faced with an equal path, one very difficult and one easy, deliberately take the difficult path. Almost…
August 1, 2023
Good news from Australia on the charity transparency front
We have urged that the Charities Directorate in Canada be given more leeway to provide information to the public when charities are involved with…
July 30, 2023
Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2024 Canadian Federal Budget
Here is the Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2024 Canadian Federal Budget. For those who have been following our law firm’s submissions over…
July 29, 2023
CRA letter on whether a particular gift is “implicitly conditional” on the registered charity transferring the property to non-qualified donee
The CRA recently sent a response to the Canadian Tax Foundation on the new qualifying disbursement/grant to grantee and directed donations…
July 23, 2023
New and Updated Canadian Charity Legal Checklist by Mark Blumberg – July 2023 -incorporates issues around qualifying disbursements and disbursement quota changes, etc.
Here is an updated Canadian Charity Legal Checklist by Mark Blumberg - July 2023. It is a checklist for Canadian registered charities to assist them…
July 13, 2023
Charity Village webinar “Top 10 Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities”
I will be presenting a webinar for Charity Village on October 19, 2023 on Top 10 Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities. Here is a blurb: Top 10…
June 2, 2023
CharityVillage Connects: Full interview with Mark Blumberg from Blumbergs about trust and transparency in the Canadian charity sector
Not sure how many people have an hour to hear me discuss with Mary Barroll, President of CharityVillage, issues facing the Canadian non-profit and…
April 26, 2023
CBC News “Kenyan authorities ignored warnings about death cult, says human rights group”
There is horrible news coming out of Kenya where a Christian religious cult told followers they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to…
March 18, 2023
Still some “abusive charity gifting tax schemes” and best to avoid them
It is tax time so just a reminder that there are still “abusive charity gifting tax schemes“ which promise that you will yield more tax savings than…
February 1, 2023
Finally received ATIP information on the use and abuse of CCPERB and the Canadian cultural property system
I have learnt that one sometimes needs patience when dealing with the Federal government. For example, when you put in an ATIP request, they have 30…
December 15, 2022
CTV News article “Review of how CRA audits Muslim charities ‘inherently flawed,’ groups say in open letter to PM”
As we have noted before in our blog on November 28, 2022, entitled Statement by the Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson on CRA examination will be…
November 28, 2022
Statement by the Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson on CRA examination will be significantly hindered by the confidentiality provisions of the ITA relating to charities
After advocating for over a decade that the confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act of Canada need to be updated, Canada’s Taxpayers’…
November 9, 2022
Some changes on the CRA’s Charities Listing relating to RCAAAs and NASOs – will there be greater transparency in the future?
I recently checked the Advance Search page of the Charities Listing. CRA has now added another search function which divides groups into "Type of…
October 27, 2022
How Much Should a Canadian Registered Charity Spend on Administration?
In our article, How much should a Canadian registered charity spend on administration (2022), we discuss how CRA has not provided guidance as to the…
September 18, 2022
Charities and Aggressive Tax Planning Dual Audit Project
In this CRA presentation from November 2019 entitled Charities and Aggressive Tax Planning Dual Audit Project, the CRA discusses the partnership…
September 18, 2022
Charities Directorate Plans and Priorities
Here is a slide deck from CRA entitled Charities Directorate Plans and Priorities 2019 - 2020. It sets out the top priorities of the various…
September 18, 2022
Charities Directorate, LPRAB Complex Audit Project Action Plan
Here is a CRA presentation entitled Charities Directorate, LPRAB Complex Audit Project Action Plan. The presentation discusses the Charities…
September 18, 2022
CRA Presentation on Registered Charities Compliance
This CRA Presentation on Registered Charities Compliance discusses CRA's focus on abusive tax shelters and other inappropriate uses of registered…
September 17, 2022
Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson System Examination into concerns expressed by certain Muslim-led charities
Here is a letter from Francois Boileau, Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, at the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, on the Systemic Examination into…
September 17, 2022
CRA Charities Directorate Compliance Division Dashboard
Here is a heavily redacted look at the Charities Directorate Compliance Division Dashboard.
September 17, 2022
Annual Resource Alignment Process One-Pager from the Charities Directorate
In the Annual Resource Alignment Process One-Pager - Charities Directorate, CRA's Charities Directorate is asking for additional funds to do High Net…