Anticipated slash in AmeriCorps enrollment could prove dire for charities that rely on the programLast year, President Bush visited a member of the AmeriCorps national service program at a community-policing project in St. Petersburg, Fla., to thank her for saving a child’s life. This year, that…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Group Releases Figures on Charity Deductions
Using statistics from the Internal Revenue Service, RIA -- a tax-information publisher -- has calculated the average deductions for charitable contributions taken in 2001 by taxpayers in six tax brackets: Average deductions ranged from $1,329 for taxpayers who earned less than $15,000 to $17,842…
By Debra E. Blum and Elizabeth Schwinn
Former Congressman to Fight Foundation Bill
By Elizabeth Schwinn, Ian Wilhelm, Grant Williams,
New Tax-Cut Law Could Discourage Giving
By Elizabeth Schwinn, Ian Wilhelm, Grant Williams,
Lobbying Audits to End, Charity Leaders Say
Nonprofit leaders who met with an IRS official last month to express concerns about the revenue service’s project to audit groups with high levels of lobbying expenses say the tax agency has decided to bring the audit program to a close. Officials from Alliance for Justice, Charity Lobbying in the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Seeks Advice on Antiterror Rules
The Internal Revenue Service has asked nonprofit leaders for assistance in crafting guidelines to help foundations and charities avoid using charitable assets to support groups with ties to terrorists -- while also not discouraging them from donating to legitimate overseas organizations. Following…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
The IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities has scheduled a public meeting May 21 in Washington to discuss audit issues, abusive tax shelters, and other topics. To attend: call Demetrice Tuppince at (202) 283-9954. Tax Analysts, a nonprofit publisher of tax information, told…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Restores Groups’ Tax-Exempt Status
The Internal Revenue Service has restored the tax-exempt status of two groups with ties to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: the Howard H. Callaway Foundation and the Abraham Lincoln Opportunity Foundation. The two groups were among six linked to Mr. Gingrich that in the late 1990s said they were…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Charitable Gifts Fell 4.8% in 2001, IRS Says
For the first time in nearly two decades, deductions claimed by Americans for charitable contributions declined from one year to the next, falling from $140.7-billion in 2000 to an estimated $134-billion in 2001, a drop of 4.8 percent, the Internal Revenue Service said. The 2001 figure exceeds the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Under Pressure, N.Y. Scraps Rules That Worried Many Charity Solicitors
After a flurry of protests from charities, the New York attorney general has decided not to require ALSO SEE:New York Attorney General’s response to comments received about the state’s new fund-raising regulations charities and their boards to obtain more than one bid before signing a contract with…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor