Canada, through the federal government and its provincial counterparts, offers preferential tax treatment to charities and certain other public benefit entities that is among the most generous of any country in the industrialized world.  That advantageous treatment comes in the form of tax credits for individuals and tax deductions for corporations that make contributions to […]

Canadians recently marked the 35th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Since it was enacted that document has profoundly altered the legal discourse – and the public’s perceptions – on many issues in Canadian law.  Given this change, coupled with the centrality of free speech to the concept of fundamental rights, particularly the […]

As the charitable sector awaits an announcement from the federal government on when and how it will be responding to the Report to the Minister of National Revenue of the Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities (the “Panel”), a couple of lower profile regulatory developments have come to the fore.  Consultation Panel on […]

One of the far corners of charity law is the fair market value of donations. For economists, the classic definition of fair market value is how much, in an open market, a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would pay a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller for a property. In the context of charitable donations and […]

The registered charities provisions of the Income Tax Act (ITA) feature a number of obscure terms. That makes registered charities vulnerable to inadvertent non-compliance. It means prudent organizations need to keep a keen eye on regulatory trends and emerging issues. Looming regulatory concerns with making gifts to groups that are not qualified donees are a […]