Packard’s Spending Cuts Cause Budget Woes for a Budget Expert
Washington The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is used to squaring off against Congress or the president on ALSO SEE:Cutting Its Losses budget issues, whether Medicaid, food-stamp spending or deficit reduction. But for the first time in its 21-year history, the heat is now on the think…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Giving by top U.S. donors is down, leaving many charities anxious about long-term effectsThe poor economy slowed giving by the nation’s biggest donors last year, and many charities fear that ALSO SEE: America’s Most-Generous Donors: A searchable database How The Chronicle’s Donor List Was Compiled…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Declines to Rule on Some Charity Matters
The IRS has identified a number of areas of the tax code, including some related to charities, for which taxpayers may no longer request a special ruling. Taxpayers may pay a fee to receive rulings, known as private-letter rulings, that clarify tax laws as they apply to specific situations.…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Plans Free Workshops for Tax-Exempt Groups
The Internal Revenue Service is offering free one-day workshops in 11 cities to small and midsize tax-exempt organizations. The workshops will cover the procedures nonprofit organizations must follow to maintain their tax exemptions and comply with other tax laws. They are designed for board…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Some Charities Can Skip Filing Tax Forms
Charities in U.S. possessions -- American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- that raise no more than $25,000 a year in the United States and have no significant activity there need not file an annual federal Form 990…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Service Has No Plans to Increase Fees
The IRS has announced that it will not increase the fees that it charges charities to apply for tax-exempt status or to receive published advice this year (Revenue Procedure 2003-8, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-1). Tax-exempt organizations seeking private-letter rulings from the government on how…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Releases Directions on Credit-Repair Groups
The IRS has published directions it will give auditors in examining nonprofit credit-counseling organizations, a prelude to its focus on such organizations. The revenue service notes that credit-counseling organizations can provide a valuable service by educating consumers about managing money and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Foundations Receive Advice on Transferring Assets
The Internal Revenue Service has published guidelines for foundations that want to transfer assets to another organization without incurring taxes. Until now, the only way a foundation could be sure it was complying with the law would be to ask the IRS for a special ruling, known as a…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Charity Tax Breaks May Languish in Congress
President Bush’s effort to persuade Congress to pass tax cuts to stimulate the economy may steal attention from long-sought charitable tax incentives, charity representatives say. Among the tax incentives that charities had hoped would pass this year: a plan to allow people who do not itemize their…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
New House Rules Let Charities Pick Up the Tab for Trips
Charities may now pay for travel and lodging for members of the House of Representatives who attend their events, under changes to ethics rules enacted by the House of Representatives this month. In addition, lobbyists are now permitted to send food, including pizza and catered meals, to congressional offices. The changes apply only to the House; the Senate’s ethics rules, which do not allow charities to pay for trips, are unchanged.
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor