As of April 17, more than 800 tax-exempt organizations had filed tax forms over the Internet this year, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has appointed two new members to the tax-exempt section of its Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities. They are Betsy…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Key lawmakers ask fundamental questions about the types of organizations that deserve tax exemptionsWashington One of the most powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week opened a wide-ranging inquiry into nonprofit organizations, raising fundamental questions about what constitutes a charity and…
By Harvy Lipman and Elizabeth Schwinn
Bill Would Not Tax Some Disaster Grants
The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prevent the taxation of federal money channeled by charities and others to victims of disasters. The Senate has yet to act on the bill. The Federal Emergency Management Agency sends “hazard mitigation” grants to nonprofit groups,…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Issues Final Rules on Charitable Trusts
The Internal Revenue Service has issued regulations that clarify how payments from charitable remainder trusts should be taxed in light of changes to capital-gains rates Congress made in 2003. A charitable remainder trust enables a donor to designate a gift to charity, take a tax deduction, and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Two churches say the IRS has asked them whether they illegally engaged in political activity in last fall’s presidential campaign. In February, the revenue service asked the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, in Miami, whether church officials had endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate,…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Corporate Funds May Help Workers Hurt by Tsunamis
The Internal Revenue Service has announced it will allow corporate foundations to provide money to employees of their corporations who need help because they were victims of the tsunamis in South Asia. Without government authorization, such payments would be considered improper “self-dealing” by…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Reaffirms Grants to Charities That Lobby
The Internal Revenue Service is reassuring private foundations that grants they make to charitable organizations that lobby are permissible under the federal tax code. The tax agency answers 16 questions about foundation grants in a letter to Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, a nonprofit…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Audits Not Political, Treasury Report Says
The Internal Revenue Service showed no political bias when it decided last year to audit dozens of charities to see whether they had illegally participated in political campaigns, according to a report by the Treasury Department. But starting the audits just months before Election Day contributed…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Tax Agency Adjusts Rules on Charitable Deductions
The Internal Revenue Service has announced several changes for the 2005 tax year that adjust tax laws to reflect inflation. One change affects the way donors calculate their charitable deductions. Federal law allows donors to take deductions only for the portions of their contributions that are…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
NAACP Disputes Timing of Audit, Refuses to Turn Over Records to IRS
Washington The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has refused to provide the Internal Revenue Service with documents and other information it needs to audit the organization, saying the tax agency overstepped legal bounds last year when it started an investigation of the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor