Below is a notice from the Canada Revenue Agency of the revocation of the charitable registration of Trinity Divine Outreach Ministries for issuing donation receipts for shares purportedly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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Ottawa, Ontario, January 11, 2013... The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will revoke the registration of Trinity Divine Outreach Ministries, a Scarborough-based charity. The notice of revocation will be published in the Canada Gazette with an effective date of January 12, 2013.

On November 30, 2012, and in accordance with subsection 168(1) of the Income Tax Act, the CRA issued a notice of intention to revoke the registration of Trinity Divine Outreach Ministries as a charity. The letter stated, in part, that:

The Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) audit has revealed that the Organization has not complied with the requirements of the Income Tax Act through its participation in a donation arrangement promoted by Innovative Gifting Inc. As a direct result, the Organization issued 40 donation receipts for a total exceeding $1.1 million for shares purportedly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is the view of the CRA that the shares for which the tax receipts were issued did not legally qualify as gifts; that the Organization failed to demonstrate that it had actually received the tax-receipted shares; and that the Organization failed to report the fair market value of the shares purportedly gifted.

A copy of the notice of intention to revoke and other letters relating to the grounds for revocation are available to the public on request, in the language they were originally written, by calling 1-800-267-2384.

An organization that has had its registration revoked can no longer issue donation receipts for income tax purposes and is no longer a qualified donee under the Income Tax Act. The organization is no longer exempt from income tax, unless it qualifies as a non-profit organization, and it may be subject to a tax equal to the full value of its remaining assets.

Registered charities perform valuable work in our communities, and Canadians support this work in many ways. The CRA regulates these organizations through the Income Tax Act and is committed to ensuring that they operate in compliance with the law. When a registered charity is found not to comply with its legal obligations, the CRA may revoke its registration under the Income Tax Act.

The CRA is reviewing all tax shelter-related donation arrangements (for example, schemes that typically promise donors a tax receipt worth more than the actual amount of the donation), and it plans to audit every participating charity, promoter, and investor. For more information about tax shelters, go to the CRA's Tax alert Web page at www.cra.gc.ca/alert.

For more information about the registration of Canadian charities, go to the CRA's Charities and Giving Web page at www.cra.gc.ca/charities.

For Broadcast Use:

The Canada Revenue Agency has announced that it will revoke the registration of Trinity Divine Outreach Ministries, a Scarborough-based charity. The revocation will come into effect on January 12, 2013.

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