NAACP Asks Tax Agency to Speed Up Inquiry
TAX WATCHBy Elizabeth SchwinnThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has been the subject of a federal tax investigation for a year and a half, wants the government to either proceed quickly with its audit of the civil-rights organization — or drop it entirely. The…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Lawmakers Earmarked $29-Billion for Pet Projects in 2006, Report Says
By Elizabeth SchwinnWashington Members of Congress spent a record $29-billion last year on so-called legislative earmarks, singling out a substantial number of charities and other institutions to receive federal funds, according to a study by a government-watchdog group. Members of Congress…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Emigrant, Mont. “Try these while they’re hot,” says Pam Kirchoff, setting a tray of caramel breakfast rolls next to a plate of cherry muffins in the gleaming kitchen of the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch. It’s only 6 a.m., but Ms. Kirchoff, the ranch’s pastry chef, is already in a rush: Today she and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Senator Questions Operating Practices of Nonprofit Hospitals, Asks for Changes
Washington Nonprofit hospitals are reviewing the way they operate and considering changes amid growing pressure from lawmakers and regulators to justify their tax-exempt status. The American Hospital Association is now crafting its response to a letter a key member of Congress sent last month that…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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The Dells Find Patience Is Key When Trying to Measure Social Progress
Michael S. Dell hopes lessons he learned from a business crisis more than a decade ago could help the foundation ALSO SEE:A Focus on Efficiency that he and his wife, Susan, created make charities more effective in the future. In 1993, the Dell computer company was in deep trouble: A new product…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Dell company’s founder applies practical approaches to his givingAustin, Tex. Michael S. Dell built the multibillion-dollar company that bears his name not by inventing new products or services, but by ALSO SEE: The Dells Find Patience Is Key When Trying to Measure Social Progress Michael and Susan…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Key Lawmaker’s Departure Weighed by Nonprofit World
TAX WATCHThe pending departure of a powerful House lawmaker with oversight over nonprofit organizations could be good news for charities that opposed his efforts to raise questions about whether all charities deserve their tax-exempt status. Rep. Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Committee Says Donors Exaggerate Value of Artwork
TAX WATCHThe Internal Revenue Service’s Art Advisory Panel has recalculated the value of hundreds of pieces of artwork for which deductions were claimed by taxpayers who donated them to charities or left them to heirs. As it has in the past, the advisory panel found that many people exaggerated the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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Watchdog, Foundation Cleared in Audit
The IRS has cleared a nonprofit watchdog group in Austin, Tex., and its affiliated charitable foundation of any wrongdoing after a 13-month investigation. The revenue service began examining the two organizations, Texans for Public Justice and the Public Justice Foundation of Texas, in December…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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59 Groups Violated Rules on Electioneering in 2004, IRS Says
Washington Nearly three-quarters of the 82 religious and charitable organizations that the Internal Revenue Service has investigated over allegations of illegal political activity during the 2004 election cycle have been found guilty of violating the law, the revenue service has announced. In most…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
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