December 2010 Archives

Harper Thanks Canadians for Donating to Charities

The Canada Revenue Agency recently issued a news release indicating that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Government thanks Canadians for donating to registered charities. In the news release Canadians were reminded to of the limited time available to donate in 2010 to receive a tax credit for that tax year.

Thanks to special tax measures designed to benefit charities and people who donate to them, donations made to registered charities provide Canadians a valuable tax credit to help reduce their tax burden and an incentive to support the important work being done in their communities.

According to the example provided in the news release, donating $200 to charity provides a tax credit of 15% of the total and for donations over $200 the tax credit goes up to 29%.

"Donating to registered charities is truly a win-win situation. Donors receive tax relief and charities continue to carry out work in the community," continued Minister Ashfield, "Our government encourages individuals to support the important work registered charities do each year".

In order for Canadians to receive the full tax credit for their charitable donations they must make them before the end of 2010 and they must also be sure to get a receipt from the registered charity.

For more information on donating to charities and receiving these tax credits, you are encouraged to visit the CRA web site at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca.

Canada's richest getting richer?

An interesting post appeared recently on the web site of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives indicating how Canada's rich keep getting richer. The CCPA released a major report by Senior Economist Armine Yalnizyan that indicates that Canada's richest 1% has enjoyed more of the gains from economic growth than ever before in recorded history.

The report identifies income trends over the past 90 years, revealing the richest 1% took 32% of all growth in incomes between 1997 and 2007.

For more information, see the CCPA article on its website.