Guobadia – Tax Court of Canada finds that an inflated charitable receipt is not a “receipt”

The taxpayer was issued charitable receipts for something like 10 times the amounts she actually contributed. Before going on to reject her claim for charitable credits on more conventional grounds (i.e., failure of the receipts to comply with the documentary requirements of Reg. 3501, including stating “the amount of a cash gift”), Smith J found that the charitable receipts also did not qualify as “receipts” on general principles, stating:

[A] receipt is a written document delivered in exchange for the receipt of money, goods or services, reflecting the actual amount of money or the fair market value of the property or services received. It follows that a document, though it bears the title “receipt” …, may not be treated… as such if it does not accurately reflect the money paid or the fair market value of the property or services actually provided in exchange.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Guobadia v. The Queen, 2016 TCC 182 under Reg. 3501.