The Tax Court of Canada has issued a set of public warnings in a case involving a “leveraged donation scheme” where prospective donors were lured with promises that their tax breaks would eclipse their contributions, but in reality they ended up ineligible for charitable donation tax credits.

“Avoid fast talking, smooth ‘people of commerce’ promoting charitable donation ‘programs’ who may omit the fact they are being paid to promote the program,” Justice Randall Bocock wrote in a recent decision out of Ottawa.