As if there was any doubt, Canada Revenue Agency has been closely watching condominium corporations and other non-profit entities to see how much money is potentially escaping taxation.
This undertaking has a big name and big acronym: Non-Profit Organization Risk Identification Project (“NPORIP”).
Through an access to information request filed 2 years ago, charity lawyer Mark Blumberg recently received the NPORIP findings in the form of CRA reports outlining the estimated dollar amounts that non-charity non-profit organizations (including condominiums) are earning. The reports also estimate the rate that those entities were non-compliant with tax laws, particularly the non-profit exemptions under s.149(1)(1) of the Income Tax Act.
The first instalment of those CRA reports is available for viewing on Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law blog. Watch for updates.
This initial excerpt provides a good introduction to the NPORIP and the potential value of money earned by condominium corporations but, like most access to information material, it is substantially redacted.
This first report and the materials yet to come may provide valuable insight into what the future may hold. Now that CRA has an idea of the scale of the potential tax revenues to be had and the rate of non-compliance, it’s safe to assume that legislative changes, heightened surveillance and stepped-up enforcement will eventually follow.