Contribution receipts Reference: Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities (AERM) (sections 429 to 438, 483 and 484) PURPOSE The purpose of this directive is to prescribe the content of contribution receipts and to formalize certain conditions pertaining to their use and their submission to the Chief Electoral Officer of Québec (DGEQ). CONTRIBUTION RECEIPT Obligation For every contribution collected, the official representative or a canvasser designated by the latter (see D-M-6) must issue a receipt to the contributor, whether the contribution is made in the form of goods, services or money, and regardless of the amount contributed. Also, the contribution amount must not exceed the legal limit as stipulated under section 431 of the AERM. When a contribution is collected directly, the canvasser must issue a receipt to the contributor. However, if a contribution is received by postal mail or other means, a receipt must be issued to the contributor once the contribution has been processed and the declaration of the elector has been obtained. The amounts entered in the appropriate spaces on a receipt must correspond exactly to the amounts received. It is strictly forbidden for anyone to issue a contribution receipt in the name of a person who has not made a contribution. Receipts printed by the DGEQ The DGEQ makes contribution receipt booklets available to official representatives. These must be used, unless a party or authorized independent candidate opts to print their own receipts. A receipt consists of 4 copies, one for each of the following persons: DGEQ; elector making the contribution; official representative of the party or authorized independent candidate; treasurer of the municipality. Page 1 of 6
Receipts printed by an authorized political entity with prior approval by the DGEQ The official representative of a party or authorized independent candidate may use contribution receipts that he has had printed for his own use, provided such receipts contain all the required information described below, and that he or she has received prior written authorization from the DGEQ to use such receipts. To obtain this authorization, you must forward your personalized model to the attention of the Direction du financement des partis politiques: By email: contribution-municipal@dgeq.qc.ca By mail: Direction du financement des partis politiques 3460, rue de La Pérade Québec (Québec) G1X 3Y5 Please allow 10 working days for approval of your contribution receipt model by the DGEQ. Extra spaces may be added to receipt forms when official representatives wish to enter additional information. Such information is not required to appear on the copies submitted to the treasurer of a municipality. A contribution slip may be self-duplicating (NCR paper). In such case, it must consist of at least 4 copies: the original (copy 1) for the DGEQ, copy 2 for the contributor, copy 3 for the official representative and copy 4 for the treasurer of the municipality. The NCR copy for the DGEQ must be printed on white paper to make it easier to scan. A contribution receipt may only be reprinted after receiving prior authorization by the DGEQ. Moreover, the official representative must forward a confirmation of the serial numbers of receipts that were printed and enclose a receipt specimen. Mandatory Information A contribution receipt must contain the following information: Heading 1. Contribution receipt. 2. The mention: Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities (AERM), Chapter XIII. Identification of contributor 3. Gender. 4. Surname at birth and given name of the elector (contributor). Page 2 of 6
5. Full domiciliary address of the elector (street no. and name, apt., city, postal code), as stipulated under the Civil Code (sections 75 to 78). In the case of a non-domiciled elector, indicate in the remarks section the address that qualifies that person as an eligible elector. 6. Name of employer of contributor at time of contribution payment. 7. Date of birth (YYYY/MM/DD). 8. Telephone number. Declaration signed by the elector IMPORTANT The font size selected for this section must be no smaller than 8 points and not condensed. 9. The heading Declaration signed by the elector and the following text: I hereby declare that my contribution: is being made out of my own assets; is being made voluntarily; is being made without compensation or consideration; has not and will not be reimbursed in any way. 10. Contributor s signature. 11. Date of signature. 12. This section must also include the following text: To be eligible to make a contribution to an authorized political entity, you must be a qualified elector within the meaning of the AERM and you must pay the contribution yourself and in accordance with the legal requirements as described on the back. Identification of the authorized entity for whose benefit the contribution is being made 13. Name of the authorized entity, as it appears on the Register of authorized political entities of Québec (if not already identified on the slip). Contribution and other 14. Contribution Contribution amount Page 3 of 6
15. When your slip provides the following options: making a contribution of goods and services, paying an entrance fee to a political activity or paying a membership fee, the following information must appear on the slip: Contribution of goods or services (not eligible for income tax purposes) Contribution amount (value) Description of goods or services provided Political activity Entrance fee (see over) Entrance fee amount (to attend political activity) Membership Membership fee 16. Total box Enter total for the money contribution, membership fee, and political activity entrance fee. 17. Payment method: Cheque Cash (in accordance with the limit stipulated in section 436 of the AERM) Credit card (enclose payment form)* (if this payment option is offered) Official representative or canvasser 18. Surname and given name 19. Signature 20. Date of issue of contribution receipt Receipts numbering 21. Sequential number printed on each receipt (unique number on each receipt). Legal requirements 22. The following text must appear on the back of the receipt: * Contributions paid by credit card must be accompanied by the payment form specified in Directive D-M-21. Page 4 of 6
Employer name The name of the employer of the contributor at the time of payment of the contribution. This field may not be left empty. Enter unemployed, retired or student, etc., as the case may be. Political activity Entrance fee Only the official representative may decide that the entrance fee to a political activity is not a contribution when this fee does not exceed $60 per day, up to one admission per person (section 428.7 of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities (AERM)). Excerpts of relevant sections of the AERM Sections 429 and 430 of the AERM stipulate that only an elector of the municipality may make a contribution in favour of a party or independent candidate holding a valid authorization for that municipality. The contribution must be made by the elector himself out of his own property. The contribution must be made voluntarily, without compensation or consideration, and it must not be reimbursed in any way. Under section 429.1, some co-owners or co-occupants having the quality of elector may designate from among themselves, by means of a power of attorney signed by a majority of these co-owners or co-occupants, one person to make a contribution. To make the contribution, the power of attorney must have been previously conveyed to the municipality. Section 431, for its part, stipulates the total contribution amount that cannot be exceeded by the same elector to each of the authorized parties and authorized independent candidates during the same fiscal year. In addition, section 436 specifies the money contribution amount that must be made by cheque or other payment order signed by the elector and drawn on the elector s own account in a financial institution having an office in Québec and made payable to the order of the authorized party or independent candidate. Such contribution may also be made, in accordance with the directives of the Chief Electoral Officer, by means of a credit card. Sections 610, 636.3 and 641.1 of the AERM also stipulate that any person who contravenes or attempts to contravene notably sections 429 to 431 is liable to a fine of $5,000 to $20,000 for a first offence and a fine of $10,000 to $30,000 for any subsequent offence within ten years in the case of a natural person, or a fine of $10,000 to $50,000 for a first offence and a fine of $50,000 to $200,000 for any subsequent offence within ten years in the case of a legal person, and also liable are: 1 o Any person who, by using threats or coercion or by promising compensation, consideration or a reimbursement, incites an elector to make a contribution. 2 o Any elector who falsely declares that a contribution is being made out of the elector s own property, voluntarily, without compensation and for no consideration, and that it has not and will not be reimbursed in any way. Section 648.1 stipulates that any information regarding any legal proceedings brought by the Chief Electoral Officer of Québec and any resulting conviction in relation to the offences specified in sections 610 (2) (3) (4) and 610.1 (2) of the AERM shall be transmitted to the associate commissioners for audits of the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) (anti-corruption unit) and the Secrétariat of the Conseil du trésor to be dealt with in the appropriate manner pursuant to the Act respecting contracting by public bodies (chapter C-65.1). These offences are corrupt electoral practices. Any person convicted of such an offence shall lose, for a period of 5 years, the right to vote, to be a candidate in an election, to engage in work of a partisan nature and to act as an election officer. Tax credit Subject to the conditions and rules established by Revenu Québec, a cash contribution may be eligible for a tax credit. Additional information - Optional Language of correspondence: Receipts may offer contributors the option of selecting the language of correspondence, whether French or English. If the language of correspondence is not indicated on the receipt, all correspondence between the contributor and the DGEQ will be exclusively in French. Email address: Receipts can also provide a space to enter the contributor s email address. This information can be used, as needed, by the DGEQ to communicate with a contributor. Page 5 of 6
Saving and submitting receipts Regardless of the receipt used, one copy shall be kept on record by the official representative for a period of seven (7) years, while another will be remitted to the elector to enclose with their Revenu Québec income tax return. The official representative must submit the copies for the treasurer and the DGEQ to the treasurer of the municipality: Independent candidate: at the time of filing the report of an authorized elector, the report and return of an authorized independent candidate and any additional financial reports, where applicable. Political party: quarterly, namely, no later than the 15 th of January, April, July and October for the previous quarter. Note that any spoiled or cancelled receipts must also be submitted to the treasurer. Contributions Made by Cheque It is strongly recommended that a photocopy of all cheques received by the official representative be kept by the party or authorized independent candidate concerned as proof that these contributions were made by electors (sections 429 and 430 of the AERM). Provisional Receipt To make the elector declaration required on contribution receipts easier to obtain, the DGEQ provides official representatives with provisional receipts. You can find the form in question on our Website at electionsquebec.qc.ca. In the Municipal section under the Forms and Guides heading, stroll down to Provisional receipt of contribution (signed by the elector) (DGE-1431-VA). The provisional receipt must be filled out and printed by the elector and must bear the elector s signature in the section Declaration signed by the elector. It must then be sent to the authorized entity by mail, fax or email (in this case, a PDF document is mandatory). The official representative must attach a copy of the provisional receipt to the DGEQ s copy of the sequentially numbered official receipt, in order to meet the requirements of section 434 of the AERM. Page 6 of 6