2013 Tax Update for Charities

BLG's Charities and Not-for-Profit Group held its 14th Annual Sector Update for Charities and Not-for-Profit Organizations on November 13, 2013 in its Toronto office.  Given the increased activity of the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") in the charity sector, my tax update was primarily charity-focused and included a discussion of the following topics, which charities should keep in mind when reviewing their operations:

• Bill C-48, which contained numerous long-standing proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (Canada), received Royal assent on June 26, 2013.  Measures implemented that will be relevant to registered charities include the split-receipting rules, amendments to the definitions of public foundation and private foundation and revocation for gifts to non-qualified donees.  Keep in mind that the CRA has generally been administering these measures as if they were law, so, in practice, many charities should not see much of a difference as a result of the