Even more evidence of the increased government scrutiny on the nonprofit sector: The Committee on Ways and Means will hold a hearing titled "An Overview of the Tax-Exempt Sector" on April 20, 2005. According to the Committee’s Advisory, the focus of the hearing is to "examine the legal history...
CURRENT AFFAIRS & OPINION
House of Representatives Passes Bill to Repeal Estate Tax
On April 13, 2005, the House of Representatives passed a bill to permanently repeal the estate tax. the House rejected the alternative offered by Rep. Earl Pomerory (D-ND) to immediately increase the estate tax exemption level to $3 million and to raise the exemption level to $3.5 million after...
Why All This Attention on the Senate Finance Committee?
I have posted a number of times on recent activities of The Senate Finance Committee and the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector. If you are involved with a nonprofit organization, you should scan some of these posts and their links. As The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports (April 14, 2005),...
Articles on the Senate Committee Hearing on April 5, 2005
Washington Post: A Sharper Eye on Nonprofits – Senate Panel Examines Ways to Curb Abuses In Giving, Receiving New York Times: Official Cites Tax Abuses With Charities The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Nonprofit Abuses Cost Federal Government Billions of Dollars, IRS Chief Tells Senators Click here for full transcript of...
Congressional Hearing on Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform – April 5, 2005
Opening Remarks of Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa This is a hearing on two important subjects. The first is strengthening the role of charities in this country. The second is closing the tax gap as it relates to charities and charitable giving. ...
Supporting Organizations Under Attack
ABC News ("Wealthy Cash In on Charity Tax Loophole," March 24, 2005) reported that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, stated that supporting organizations are increasingly misused by the wealthy. Reportedly, Grassley said, "Quite frankly, nothing more than a parking place for billions of dollars of assets...
Bush Administration No Longer Supports Charitable Deduction to Taxpayers Who Do Not Itemize Deductions
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (March 17, 2005) reported that the Bush administration no longer supports legislation that would provide a charitable deduction to taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on their tax returns. According to the Chronicle, the Bush administration had previously supported the deduction for people who do...
Nonprofits in the News – Bay Area – March 9-10, 2005
The March 10, 2005 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle included an article entitled “$1.1 million in dubious spending by nonprofits.” The article stated that state auditors called into question more than $1.1 million in spending from state grants and that they concluded that the state lacks adequate safeguards...
Panel on the Nonprofit Sector – March 1, 2005 Interim Report to U.S. Senate Finance Committee
The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, convened by the Independent Sector and comprised of leaders of various nonprofit organizations , issued an Interim Report to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on March 1, 2005 calling upon the nation’s 1.3 million charities and foundations to implement a series of measures...
Opinion of Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers
In an Op-Ed piece for the February 21, 2005 issue of The New York Times, Stephen Goldsmith and William D. Eggers argue that the critical question with respect to the delivery of public services is “how the sectors, including nonprofit groups, should be arrayed and managed to produce the...