CRA leaks tax info on famous Canadians’ cultural donations

CRA has accidentally leaked the personal information of hundreds of rich and famous Canadians to CBC in response to an access to information request, CBC reports.

Among those affected were former prime minister Jean Chrétien, financier Stephen Bronfman, businessman Frank Sobey and author Margaret Atwood.

Their home addresses and the value of donation tax credits were released to CBC.

The documents show these prominent Canadians donated manuscripts, photos and fine art.

The largest donation, CBC reported, is a $200-million Rubens painting, given to the AGO.

CRA commissioner Andrew Treusch released a statement confirming the breach.

“The document was accidentally released to the CBC through human error,” he says. “When the CRA became aware of the breach, CRA officials immediately contacted the CBC to inform them of the error and retrieve the documents. Retrieval efforts continue.”

Treusch says CBC did not respond to CRA’s request to retrieve the information, and he has reported the leak to the privacy commissioner.

Read more here.

Advisor’s Jessica Bruno has written about how to donate art to Canadian cultural institutions while reaping tax benefits.

“The are substantial tax advantages to donating art the right way.”

Read about how to arrange donations here.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.