Posts Tagged ‘philanthropy’
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Canada should fix refugee system
The problem isn’t a lack of open hearts or willing hands. It isn’t even a lack of money. The stumbling block to bringing more desperate people to this country is that it has become next to impossible to connect them with the people ready to welcome them here. The refugee system has become so tangled and slow that asylum seekers languish in camps while would-be sponsors wait in frustration.
This is an eminently fixable problem…
Tags: budget, globalization, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, philanthropy
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada’s Charity Law Needs Reform: Report
The report calls for Canada to establish clearer rules about what constitutes political activity and provide a more generous limit on allowable political activities. Charities impacted by federal audits applauded the reports’ recommendations. Environmental Defence executive director Tim Gray said the findings put Canada’s laws in context with other western countries.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Should poor seniors have to pay to volunteer
… federal and provincial governments penalize seniors… who get pocket money to cover their expenses for volunteer jobs… [as it is] subtracted from their old-age government assistance cheques… Under social assistance rules, a person under 65 can make up to $6,000 a year from “gifts” without seeing their government cheques decline… There is no such limit when they become seniors at 65, though… It’s not clear if these cascading clawbacks stem from punitive planning or sloppy neglect.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Ottawa should broaden tax break for donations to charity
U.S. laws do more to encourage donating to charities by offering more generous tax breaks to people who give money away… In its spring budget the Conservative government should broaden the tax exemption on capital gains for charitable donations. It should give the same tax treatment to donations of private-company shares and real estate as is now given to gifts of publicly traded shares… That would likely result in additional donations to charities in the region of $200 million a year
Tags: budget, ideology, philanthropy, tax
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Explaining the rich man’s misery
Psychologists, sociologists and other social scientists have discovered that money does not in fact bring happiness… the evidence suggests surprisingly high levels of joyless feelings among those who are materially well fixed… but… that spending money wisely on helping other people will probably increase happiness… the gap between rich and poor is more than a matter of justice. “It’s not just bad for the poor. It’s also bad for the rich.”
Tags: ideology, participation, philanthropy
Posted in Equality Debates | 3 Comments »
Problem with charities isn’t their politics, it’s their generous tax credit
There is in fact a very simple solution: take away the charitable tax designation — not selectively, based on their ability to dance on the head of a CRA pin, but across the board, outright. If people want to donate to charities, let them do so on their own dime, without the tax benefit. And let charities raise funds on the strength of their own cause, not the lure of a tax break. It is the charitable tax status itself, not any alleged attempts to evade its rules, that corrupts the definition of charity.
Tags: featured, ideology, philanthropy, rights, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Charities under audit fire band together for answers from Canada Revenue Agency
For two years now environmental, aid, human rights and free speech charities have felt they were targeted for newly funded CRA audits of their political activities because they had been outspoken critics of government policies. At first they were fearful to speak out lest they draw the ire of the tax man, and lose their charitable status… But then the government… increased the number of charitable organizations selected for the onerous reviews, targeting 60, and increased the new budget for auditing political activities to $13.4 million from $8 million.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, tax
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Why the CRA’s crackdown on charities may be reasonable
… it was never Parliament’s goal to create a privileged class of lobbyists connected to charities. On the other hand, many people feel that restricting the political activities of charities is absurd given that virtually all charitable activity can be characterized as an attempt to change the way social resources are spent… The crucial message… is a reminder that our charitable status is a privilege and not a right. It is a privilege granted by CRA, an arm of the government, and as such we and other charitable organizations will always exist subject to the scrutiny of those in power in Ottawa.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, philanthropy
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
Canada’s charities deserve better
It’s time to have a frank discussion about charities and their administrative and fundraising costs. Over the past decade, the increasing focus on a charity’s cost of doing business has forced the entire charitable sector to defend itself against a rash of naïve accusations… There are a countless other potential variables, all of which speak louder than a narrow focus on fundraising and administrative costs. A pure focus on the sector’s cost efficiency belittles the importance of charities and the work that they do.
Tags: homelessness, ideology, philanthropy, women, youth
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
How a budget could lift a barrier to charity
The elimination of the capital gains tax on charitable donations of private company shares and real estate would provide the same tax treatment as for gifts of listed securities. This proposal’s fiscal cost to the federal government would be only $50-million to $65-million a year, just 1 per cent of the projected budget surplus. By removing this remaining barrier to charitable giving, hospitals, universities, social service agencies and arts and cultural organizations would receive an additional $200-million a year in donations.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, philanthropy, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
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