Churches losing charitable status

Failure to file returns major reason

By Debra Fieguth - ChristianWeek staff

Most of the 260 Canadian churches and Christian organizations which lost their charitable status this summer could have avoided that revocation, says charities watchdog Frank Luellau. The executive director of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities says that in many cases the churches or organizations simply failed to file their income tax returns.

The names of the charities were published in the July 12 Canada Gazette, a government publication which annually lists the hundreds of charities that are losing their status.

The federal document says the charities are losing their registration based on paragraph 168(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act. That paragraph states that registration will be revoked if a charity "fails to file an information return as and when required under this Act or a regulation."

The failure to file can happen for a number of reasons, says Luellau. A common reason is that a church treasurer retires but Revenue Canada mail keeps coming to his or her address. Revenue Canada is never told about the change in treasurer.

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