September 5, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Company Foundations and the Self-Dealing Rules, by Jane C. Nober, offers guidance for steering clear of violations of the self-dealing rules, which have caused particularly “knotty problems” for corporate foundations since they were added to the tax code in 1969, says Dorothy S. Ridings, chief executive officer of the Council on Foundations, in the book’s preface. Jane C. Nober, special counsel at the Council on Foundations, explains the self-dealing rules, which prohibit a corporate foundation from using its assets to benefit people close to the foundation, such as owners of more than 20 percent of the voting power in its parent company. The rules act in many ways like an “alter ego” of the parent company, according to Ms. Nober. “Thus, the tension: The company foundation operates in close harmony with the company, yet it is prohibited from engaging in a multitude of financial transactions with the related company,” she says. The guide reviews the laws that govern company foundations and the penalties for self-dealing, and examines the most common situations in which self-dealing issues arise, such as when foundations and their affiliate companies share office space or employees.
Publisher: Council on Foundations, 1828 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-5168; (202) 466-6512; fax (202) 785-3926; http://www.cof.org; 63 pages; $20 for members, $35 for nonmembers.
