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| == New Business == | | == New Business == |
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| === GST number (10 min) Jon === | | === GST number (5 min) Jon === |
| * Jon: "Our approach to GST exempt status was based on the understanding that NPOs like EBC were GST exempt as long as sales were less than $250,000 annually. Some research on the CRA website suggests otherwise. Specifically, only Charities and Public Institutions may use the $250,000 annual sales test. According to CRA, EBC would be classified as a Public Service Body (not a Public Institution) non-profit organization. The annual sales limit to qualify for GST exemption is $50,000 for a Public Service Body. | | * Need 1-2 board members to join ad-hoc committee to contact tax lawyer with charity background to discuss EBC's tax exemption status. |
| ** "A Public Service Body means a charity, a non-profit organization, a municipality, a school authority, a hospital authority, a public college, or a university."
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| ** "A Non-profit organization (NPO) means a person (other than an individual, an estate, a trust, a charity, a public institution, a municipality, or a government) that meets the following conditions:
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| *** it is organized and operated solely for non-profit purposes;
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| *** it does not distribute or make available any of its income for the personal benefit of any proprietor, member, or shareholder, unless the proprietor, member, or shareholder is a club, a society, or an association that has, as its primary purpose and function, the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada."
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| * Board previously discussed this in [http://edmontonbikes.ca/w/Board_Minutes_September_2013#Charitable_Status_Committee_Report_.285_min.29 Sept 2013].
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| * Neil: "Basically the question of whether we're over $50k or not depends on whether our memberships are taxable or not. I'm coming down on the side of not taxable, but maybe we should call CRA to clarify. Club memberships are taxable where the main purpose of the club is to provide recreational, dining, or sporting facilities to its members, or if the value of membership discounts exceed 30% of the cost of the membership. My interpretation is that BikeWorks probably qualifies as a sporting or recreational facility (though that might be stretching that point), but is only one of many reasons for purchasing a membership, and isn't the main purpose of the 'club.' Also, because it's provided to the general public, not 'to members' it shouldn't meet this criteria. Because discounts aren't exactly limited, I imagine some people derive more than 30% benefit from them, but would guess on average not."
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| * Need to contact tax lawyer with charity background to discuss EBC's status.
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| * Discussion notes: | | * Discussion notes: |
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