CRA recently updated their page dealing with Penalties and suspensions. The big changes appear to be a whole section on penalties and suspension for registered journalism organizations – of which there are none currently! Also, they updated the language relating to “direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office” what we used to refer to as “partisan activities”.
So for registered charities instead of saying there is a suspension of tax-receipting privileges for:
“Carrying out partisan political activities, or political activities that are not connected and subordinate to the charity’s charitable purposes or carrying on political activities when the charity is not devoting substantially all its resources to charitable activities and purposes”
It now says “Devoting any resources to the direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office”
For RCAAAs it used to say a one-year suspension of tax receipting privileges for:
“Carrying out partisan political activities, or political activities that are not connected and subordinate to the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada on a nation-wide basis, or carrying on political activities when the association is not devoting substantially all its resources to that exclusive purpose and function”
It now says the suspension is for “Devoting any resources to the direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office”
Here is the new information on penalties and suspensions for registered journalism organizations:
| Infraction | Penalty/Suspension for first infraction | Penalty/Suspension for repeat infractions |
|---|---|---|
| Not filing an annual information return on time | $500 penalty (assessed when an application for re-registration is made) | $500 penalty (assessed when an application for re-registration is made) |
| Issuing receipts with incomplete or incorrect information | 5% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt | 10% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt |
| Not keeping proper books and records or failing to provide them to authorized CRA officials when requested | Suspension of tax-receipting privileges | Suspension of tax-receipting privileges |
| Issuing receipts when there is no gift or when the receipt contains false information (when the total penalties for this infraction for the year do not exceed $25,000) | 125% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt | 125% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt |
| Issuing receipts when there is no gift or when the receipt contains false information (when the total penalties for this infraction for the year exceed $25,000) | One year suspension of tax-receipting privileges and 125% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt | One year suspension of tax-receipting privileges and 125% penalty on the eligible amount stated on the receipt |
| Accepting gifts or transfers of property on behalf of a suspended qualified donee | One year suspension of tax-receipting privileges | One year suspension of tax-receipting privileges |
| Providing incomplete or inaccurate information on the annual information return, including failing to include on the return the name of a donor that made a gift in excess of $5,000 during the tax year and the amount of the gift | Suspension of tax-receipting privileges until the required information is provided to the CRA on the RJO annual information return | Suspension of tax-receipting privileges until the required information is provided to the CRA on the RJO annual information return |
CRA has also recently created a page entitled Compliance for registered journalism organizations with information on audits, sanctions, and revocations for RJOs.
Related Posts
April 14, 2021
If a charity official donation receipt does not have all mandatory elements then it can be invalid
In a recent Federal Court of Appeal case called Kueviakoe v. Canada, the court decided that an official donation receipt lacking certain basic or…
April 10, 2021
Employees in the Canadian Charity Sector -most charities either have no employee or 1 employee
I recently read a very good report from The Charity Report dealing with charity sector employees entitled Charity Sector Employees: Employee…
April 7, 2021
Centre for Inquiry Canada publishes report on “The Costs of Religion in Canada”
Someone sent me a link to a report from the Centre for Inquiry Canada entitled "The Costs of Religion in Canada". It is advocating for…