ARTICLE · 13 FEBRUARY 2013

Donating May Hurt

Crowe Soberman LLP

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To date, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has denied more than $5.5 billion in donation claims and reassessed over 167,000 taxpayers who participated in gifting tax shelter schemes.

CanadaTax

Jamie Herman

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To date, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has denied more than $5.5 billion in donation claims and reassessed over 167,000 taxpayers who participated in gifting tax shelter schemes. 44 charitable organizations were found guilty and each one had their charitable status revoked.

Effective January 1, 2012, the CRA will not assess returns for individuals suspected of being involved in tax shelter schemes. Attempting to discourage participation in such arrangements, and to avoid the issuance of invalid refunds, the CRA will not proceed with assessments and refunds until they complete an audit on the tax shelter, which may take up to two years. Taxpayers wishing to relinquish their gifting tax shelter receipt claim will have their withheld returns assessed.

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