http://decision.tcc-cci.gc.ca/tcc-cci/decisions/en/item/109836/index.do
Bope v. The Queen (May 12, 2015 – 2015 TCC 120, Masse D.J.).
Précis: Mr. Bope claimed to have made cash donations in 2009 totalling $3,800 to Revival Time Ministries International (“Revival”) to benefit the poor and sick in Africa. This was roughly 10% of his gross income for the year. The Minister originally allowed the donations but subsequently reassessed to deny them. Mr. Bope appealed to the Tax Court.
The Court denied the appeal. Mr. Bope had not offered any objective proof of the donations claimed.
Decision: This was yet another in a recent spate of cases involving bogus charitable receipts:
[21] The appellant submits that he made the donations in cash and property totalling over $10,000 in value. However, he provided the Minister with a receipt showing cash donations of only $3,800. Why did he not obtain one or more receipts indicating the exact amount he donated? He admits that he did not keep a record of the amounts he donated each week or each month. He said that he made withdrawals from his bank account to provide for his family and to make donations to Revival. He put the money in an envelope and gave it to the church. At the end of the year, the church issued him a receipt showing the total amount he donated. He stated that his wife worked and earned a significant amount of income to allow the appellant to make such donations. However, the bank statements he provided the Canada Revenue Agency (hereinafter the Agency) with show that his bank account was consistently in overdraft. Although Mr. Bope said he had the means to make the donations, the evidence showed that he owed money on his line of credit during the year in issue.
[22] Gary Huenemoeder is the Audit Team Leader at the Agency’s Charities Directorate. He stated that Revival obtained its registration number on July 1, 2006. The Agency audited Revival for 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Agency requested Revival’s accounting books and records, but all the accounting records were seized because Revival did not pay rent of $321. Revival provided bank statements, receipts for donations and various bank drafts. Following a review of said documents, Mr. Huenemoeder found that Revival had reported income in excess of $830,000 for its first year of operation, which seemed to be very high for a first year. According to the review of the bank account statements, the organization allegedly deposited 1.8 million dollars in the bank. Mr. Huenemoeder suspected that something was wrong. The Agency therefore required the production of documents from banks that conducted business with Revival. Upon reviewing those documents, the Agency discovered that only $3,000 had been deposited in the banks. Thus, all of the documents that were provided to the Agency by the organization were false. The Agency contacted 920 donors, requiring proof of payment of the donations, and they all indicated that they had paid cash and not by cheque or by bank draft. It is unlikely that all these donors paid their donations in cash. An investigation was conducted in respect of Daniel Mokwe, Revival’s pastor, but he fled Canada before the Agency was able to lay criminal charges against him. Mr. Huenemoeder found no evidence of charitable activities organized by Revival. Its registration as a charitable organization was therefore revoked on January 8, 2011. Mr. Huenemoeder reviewed the appellant’s file and found no evidence of the donations supposedly made by the appellant.
In the absence of any objective evidence supporting the donations the appeal was dismissed. No costs were awarded as this was an informal procedure appeal.