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Greetings!
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Welcome to the October 2011 edition of the Charity Law Insights.
In this issue we once again bring you practical commentary arising out of developments in the charity world - and hope that you find the articles below useful for your organization.
To our Jewish readers we extend our best wishes for the new year.
As usual, we look forward to receiving your feedback about our newsletter..
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Yours truly,
Drache Aptowitzer LLP | | | |
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There is a curse of unknown origin to the effect of "may you live in interesting times" and there is no question that the past few years have been interesting ones for charities. From the Voluntary Sector Initiative a little over ten years ago, the imposition of the intermediate sanctions, amendments to the disbursement quota and receipting rules, art flips, tax shelters, new corporate regimes and a ferocious interest in regulation of the sector - charities have been kept busy over the years. However, rather than look at each new change individually, there are times when changes in two different areas of charity operations should be looked at together. To read the full article: |
Legal Advice for Charities Create Conundrums for Lawyers
We recently took part in the Global Forum, an invitation only conference held in Stockholm August 21-23 in which 200 people involved with civil society from 80 countries met to discuss issues of mutual interest.
We along with about fifteen other lawyers who represent civil society organizations met in a session in which issues involving advice to CSOs were discussed. Though the law differs from country to country, it became clear in the discussions that there are matters which arise no matter where the lawyer is working.
To read the full article click here:
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It appears that the Canada Revenue Agency, Charities Directorate has been receiving trust documents that do not meet their basic requirements for registration in sufficient numbers to warrant a new guidance on the subject. They are recommending that those seeking charitable registration for a trust send in a draft trust document for their review, not one signed in final form. The reason given for this in the guidance is "amendments to a trust that is already established may not be possible or may require court approval." This would be a problem for the potential charitable registrant.
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Ontario Property Tax Exemption for Charities Not a Fait Accompli
In addition to being tax exempt under subsection 149.1(l) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), non-profit organizations and charities may be exempt from property taxes in Ontario as well. Under subsection 3(1) of the Assessment Act (the "Act"), exemptions are made for "Philanthropic organizations" and "Charitable institutions" among others. Notwithstanding, these exemptions have been construed quite narrowly so organizations should review each particular subsection of the Act carefully to ensure that they understand the criteria for exemption and are not subject to an unexpected assessment.
For more information click here:
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Drache Aptowitzer LLP Happenings
Drache Aptowitzer LLP is happy to announce its new Winnipeg phone number
Since our last issue, Adam Aptowitzer presented at the Philanthropic Foundations of Canada conference and at the Osgoode Hall Continuing Legal Education seminar educating other lawyers about the law in this area. He also gave a guest lecture at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law on the topic of charity regulation.
Arthur Drache continued to publish both the Canadian Taxpayer and the Not for Profit News which contained articles by both Joel Sector and Yvonne Chenier. |
