March 9, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Keeping a watchful eye on how changes in Congress will affect charities, a Chicago lawyer and nonprofit expert suggests that Sen. Charles E. Grassley’s replacement as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, is just as interested in tough regulation of charities as his predecessor.
Jack Siegel at the Charity Governance Blog goes so far as to call Senator Baucus a “Mini Me” version of Senator Grassley, a play on the line made famous by the Austin Powers movie character.
Mr. Siegel cites a Wednesday press release issued jointly by the two Senators staking out their similar position, in which they call for a new report from the IRS on tax-avoidance schemes by nonprofit groups and others.
Mr. Siegel also brings up Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s belief that U.S. courts should look to
international law for guidance on cases, adding that such interest could lead the U.S. government to apply lessons from Britain’s new charity legislation.
Writes Mr. Siegel: “Although much of the new Charity Act [in Britain] relies on self-regulation, it does focus on the basis for charitable status.”
He adds: “Some find it easy to criticize Justice Breyer for looking outside the U.S. when applying U.S. law. Those folks will find it much more difficult to criticize Justice Breyer when he is asked to interpret British law that has subsequently found its way into Congressional legislation.”
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-Noelle Barton
