What do you think about this approach in saving Tax money. - charity tax schemes in Canada - same as in USA Stay Away -


My_question_is: Canadian-specific

question: Hi David, I met one guy recently and he is proposing this way of saving on Tax money

Here is the site:
http://www.save-canada.com:80/

What do you think about this one?
Thanks


david ingram replies:

It looks like a total scam to me along the lines of many other charity scams. 

Anything that offers you more money back in tax refunds than you actually give to a charity is not going to pass the sniff test by the CRA or the IRS or Inland Revenue, etc., etc.

The real problem is that the CRA lets these things go a couple of years before they catch up.  then everyone suffers who invested or participated in the scheme. We all want to save tax and unfortunately people fall fro all sorts of pie in the sky schemes.  Usually, there is even a legal opinion with it.  I have been criticizing these things for years.  And, I can NOT remember or think of a single one i criticized that made it. 

see http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/220756

see the following for information on the charity scams from the CRA itself

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/chrts/dnrs/lrt/2-eng.html

See a tax preparer who spent 10 months in jail and a $145,000 fine for charity tax fraud

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/cnvctns/on/on090602-eng.html

THE BEST FOR LAST - and see a recently filed lawsuit against Cassels Brock & Blackwell AND Lorne H Saltman for giving advice in a similar (but not the same by any means) type  of "more refund than you gave"  type of charity.  Note that the participants paid millions of dollars in interest,  This one goes after the lawyer and law firm which gave the legal opinion upon which the participants relied.  Note that this lawsuit was just filed but the actual tax shelter scheme operated in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and took 8 years from start to finish for the CRA to win.  Unfortunately, the CRA takes too long to succeed publicly.

The following is reproduced from the Canadian  Car Association's website at:

 http://www.cba.org/ClassActions/class_2009/ontario/pdf/04-15-2009_Lipson.pdf


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