The benevolent sector in Canada today is faced with more rigorously enforced and complex requirements under the Income Tax Act and other legislation. Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to onerous interim sanctions that have significant financial penalties for charities and donors. What is not clear is how these laws will be applied. Charities may increasingly be required to turn to the courts to ensure that these laws are interpreted correctly and that tax auditors extend them the standards of administrative fairness to which they are entitled.

There is also a need to turn to the courts to determine what type of activities should be recognized as charitable. Canada has chosen not to pursue legislative reform to expand the definition of charity, so Benefic Lawyers aims to further the interests of persons and organizations engaged in the benevolent sector by clarifying the law relating to the registration and revocation of registered charity status.  

Benefic Lawyers specializes in litigation regarding:

• Protecting clients' rights to administrative fairness when dealing with Canada Revenue Agency
• Challenging revocations of charitable status, and rejections of applications for charitable registration
• The scope of charitable purposes and activities that are entitled to benefits under the Income Tax Act
• Penalty taxes and interim sanctions
• The law of gift
• Human rights issues