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Friday, May 4, 2012

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Read the latest updates below or with full articles online.


ACR Blog Roundup

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The ACR blog (www.acreform.com/blog) highlights our thoughts on news of the day. For regular blog updates, follow us @acrefom on Twitter.

Here is a roundup of the ACR blog since the last newsletter edition:

 


Washington Roundup

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On Monday, May 7th, both the House and Senate return from district work periods. The Senate will be in session until May 25th and the House will be in May 7-10th and 15-18th.

Hearing on Expired Tax Benefits

On April 26th, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on tax provisions that have expired, including the IRA charitable rollover.  This hearing was unusual as Members of Congress were the only witnesses asked to testify on behalf of their favored tax provisions.  As we also noted in our blog, Members voiced their support for numerous individual and corporate tax provisions, such as the deduction for state and local sales taxes and the Research and Development Tax Credit.  Of interest to us, extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover (which expired at the end of 2011) received strong support.

Representative Wally Herger (R-CA) said “One tax extender I strongly support is the charitable IRA rollover provision. First enacted in 2006, this policy allows IRA owners to make tax-free charitable contributions from their savings. Our country has a long and proud tradition of charitable giving and meeting human needs through voluntary private generosity, rather than relying solely on taxpayer-funded programs. The tax deduction for charitable contributions recognizes the importance of this tradition, and the charitable IRA rollover extends this favorable tax treatment to retirement savings.” 

Additionally, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) said the IRA Charitable Rollover “is one of those cherished traditions we don’t see anywhere else in the world and I would think that [Congress] would want to continue this."

Steady outreach by representatives in our sector to educate Members about the unique nature of private giving incentives is clearly resonating.


Consider This

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Tax Reform Buzzwords

The House and Senate are on a break this week so we thought this might be a good time to take a breath and run through some of the buzzwords and catch phrases on tax reform that might affect the charitable sector. Only a few policy makers will say “we should limit charitable giving incentives." But that does not mean the outcome of what many policy makers are proposing will  do just that.

General phrases like this that should catch your attention include...(Continue reading)


Making Headlines

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Tax Reform

Tax reform discussions continue to gain steam in Washington, as policymakers and economists debate funding the government, expiring tax provisions and reforming the tax code without adding to the national debt. The Fiscal Times highlights comments from Members of Congress about the difficulty of selecting which tax incentives to cut or eliminate as part of tax reform. See Also: Obama's Budget Means a Tax Increase on Everyone, Wall Street Journal, Best Tax Deductions On Chopping Block?, Forbes and Surviving ’Taxmageddon’ Without Maiming Economy, Bloomberg.

Relatedly, Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector, discussed their principles to guide policymakers in developing spending and tax policies that “will not exacerbate income inequality or increase poverty” as they undertake deficit reduction.


States/Local

Massachusetts: Legislators have filed a budget amendment (407) limiting salaries for executive positions of nonprofits receiving government funds based on the organization’s annual budget size. The Boston Herald’s Editorial Board is critical of this measure for –among other things– not addressing the mismanagement issues among organizations that sparked the legislation. Check our blog for updates on this provision as it moves through the Massachusetts Legislature.

Providence, RI:  After months of negotiations Brown University has agreed to pay the city of Providence over $30 million in lieu of property taxes (on top of current voluntary remittances and taxes on some of its properties).  Also see: Providence Debt Cut as Brown Agrees to Higher Payments, BloombergBusinessweek


Comings & Goings (Nonprofit Leadership)

Council on Foundations: Kevin K. Murphy, president of Berks County Community Foundation, was elected chairman of the Council on Foundations board of directors, at the organization’s annual conference in Los Angeles.


This Caught Our Eye…

Governance: According to the head of the IRS Exempt Organizations division, there is a direct relationship between organizations following good governance practices and their compliance with the tax code. This is confirmed by a recent IRS study analyzing governance data from Form 990s of more than 1,300 charities. Also see: Comments by Lois Lerner (Director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division)

Annual Conference: The Council on Foundations convened over 1,300 foundations for its annual conference in Los Angeles. Speakers and attendees blogged about sessions including:

For more perspectives from the conference visit: COF Interact (blog)

Donor Advised Funds: In an interview with heads of two of the nation’s largest donor advised funds (Schwab Charitable and the National Philanthropic Trust) Rick Cohen finds that DAFs can be tools for “democratizing philanthropy.”

L3C’s: The Charlotte Post examines how low-profit limited liability corporations (L3C’s) work and can be used by foundations to advance their philanthropic goals.

Nonprofit Overhead: In an LA Times op-ed, Jack Shakely, president emeritus of the California Community Foundation, is critical of using administrative costs to assess nonprofit performance, arguing that low admin costs “could indicate prudence and sound judgment at a charity, but they could just as easily indicate inadequate staffing, insufficient salaries or, shall we say, fudging.”

Lobbying and Advocacy: The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports on the complicated rules for nonprofits engaged in lobbying and advocacy, using the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as a case study.

American Generosity: A Voice of America article highlights that the tradition of generosity has deep roots in U.S. culture. Salvation Army Major George Hood explains, charities and community projects provide like-minded people with a chance to connect and build personal bonds.


If you experience any technical difficulties with links please email plee@philanthropyroundtable.org.

Contact ACR at Info@acreform.com


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