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...
President Bush’s 2006 Budget Plan
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (February 17, 2005) reported that in President Bush’s 2006 spending plan proposed to Congress earlier in the month, the President suggested taking money away from many longstanding broad-based social programs that he claims are ineffective and reallocating some of that money to “new, carefully focused...
Opinion of Rep. Charles B. Rangel and John Buckley
In the Opinion “Tax-Code Overhaul Could Harm Charities” published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy (February 3, 2005), Rep. Charles B. Rangel (ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on Ways and Means) and John Buckley (the Committee’s Democratic chief tax counsel) critically address some of the goals reportedly forwarded...
Meeting of the Exempt Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section on Taxation – January 21, 2005
The highlights: Introductory Session: The panel briefly mentioned new laws on the treatment of donations of: (i) intellectual property (Notice 2004-7); and (ii) used cars (see addendum to Publication 4302). Martha Sullivan, Director Exempt Organizations Division, participated by phone...
2005: A Tough Year
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (January 20, 2005) reported that many nonprofit observers believe that charities and foundations could face an unusually hostile political and financial climate in Washington that could lead to significant changes in the nonprofit sector. Among the increased government scutiny: the IRS has stepped up its...
Tsunami Relief
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (January 20, 2005) reported that more than $400-million has been raised by international aid groups in the United States. To encourage more donations, Congress enacted a new law on January 7, 2005 to allow taxpayers who itemize deductions to claim on their 2004 tax returns...
Free Tax-Form Software
Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics has developed a program that allows charities to enter, verify, print, and electronically file their Forms 990 or Forms 990-EZ. Find it here: http://efile.form990.org/.
The Charity Boom
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (January 6, 2005) reported that there are now nearly 800,000 charities listed on the IRS’s official roster. Over 300,000 of these organizataions gained tax-exempt status in the past ten years, and of these newer organizations, 53% were not required to file federal information tax returns...
501(c)(3) Organization: Public Charity or Private Foundation
Organizations described in Internal Revenue Code Section* 501(c)(3) fall into two categories: private foundations and public charities. Under Section 509, all organizations, domestic or foreign, described in Section 501(c)(3) are private foundations except the types of organizations described in Sections 509(a)(1), (2), (3) or (4). “Public charities” is the...
Not All Tax-Exempt Organizations Are Entitled to Deductible Gifts
Click here for a discussion of the difference between tax-exempt and tax-deductible on give.org’s website. Section 501(c)(3) vs. Section 170(b)(1)(A): Section 501(c)(3) organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(a) are defined as: "Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing...