Finance committee  Certainly, the receipt to the donor is going to be the same in either case. The problem is the recipient organization. The motivation of that organization is going to vary, and if it's land in south Edmonton, heck, if you gave it to the United Way, their fiduciary obligation is t

Finance committee  On ecogifts, the expense is there, and it's an expense that's been borne since 1995, to varying degrees, because the exemption has been diminished over time. The perception is that the expense is there because it has an independent policy objective that relates to the national co

Finance committee  Sure. With respect to the extension to 10 years, the only information we have is anecdotal. We took a hard look at the tax expenditure numbers; if they generally are unreliable for all gifts, there's not that much more data with respect to ecological gifts. So it's entirely anecd

Finance committee  Certainly with regard to the ecological gifts program, it should go without saying that if you extend the capital gains exemption to all gifts of real property, you've pretty much cut the legs out from under that program. It serves as an important incentive. It has a tax policy

Finance committee  I can't comment on the particular facts of a member's situation. If it were an ecological gift, the mechanisms exist already in the Income Tax Act. First, the land is certified by a government authority as ecologically sensitive. In Quebec it happens to be the provincial govern

Finance committee  Yes?

Finance committee  The mechanisms exist in the Income Tax Act. First, if the value was certified, it was certified. If somebody is not happy with the certified value, there is an appeal mechanism within the context of the Income Tax Act. So the remedy is there in itself. Also, CRA has ample audit p

Finance committee  It's the land trust itself, most often. Sometimes it will be transferred after the initial donation to Parks Canada, or a provincial government sometimes, if the land abuts an existing conserved property. But the land trust retains what's called the conservation easement, which e

Finance committee  Certainly. The current ecological gift program exempts that kind of gift of real estate from capital gains, and currently you get the deduction in the year of the gift and for an additional five years. Because these are gifts of land tending to be of high value from folks who do

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. The program for ecological gifts is limited to ecologically sensitive land. The way the federal government and provincial governments have a say in the criteria for what is ecologically sensitive very often includes the protection of agricultural land

Finance committee  Good afternoon. My name is Karen Cooper. I'm a tax practitioner. My clients are largely charities and NPOs. I also teach the law of charities at the University of Ottawa. However, I'm not here in that capacity. I'm a volunteer and a board member with the Canadian Land Trust Alli

Finance committee  Our second recommendation is, of course, to support Imagine Canada's proposal of a stretch tax credit for charitable giving. Not only are land trusts involved in ecological gifts, they also require increased donations for their stewardship funds. In effect, they use their steward