Income-Tax Judgment Ends Battle with Church
A federal judge has imposed tax penalties on a former Baptist pastor, putting an end to a $5.9-million tax case against his Indianapolis church. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker ordered the Rev. Gregory J. Dixon, pastor emeritus of the Indianapolis Baptist Temple, to pay the government…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
New Figures Released on Charity Deductions
Using statistics from the Internal Revenue Service, RIA -- a tax information publisher -- has calculated the average deductions for charitable contributions taken by taxpayers in 1999 in six tax brackets: Income Average contribution 1999 0-$14,999 $1,350 $15,000-29,999 $1,619 $30,000-49,999 $1,774…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Charity’s Advocacy Work Under Fire in Complaint
By ELIZABETH SCHWINNA recent complaint to the Internal Revenue Service about a charity’s efforts to persuade companies to change their environmental policies could have a chilling effect on similar work by other charities, some experts say. Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a Fairfax, Va.,…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Tips for Hiring Fund Raisers From Outside the Nonprofit World
By ELIZABETH SCHWINNJames R. Wood knows firsthand how difficult it can be to find experienced fund raisers. As a trustee of Hanover College, a liberal-arts college in Indiana, he was on the search committee for a new development official. ALSO SEE:Banking on Corporate Experience But after a search…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Banking on Corporate Experience
Charities look to the for-profit world to fill senior fund-raising slotsWhen Uri D. Herscher was hiring a top development officer for the center on Jewish history and culture he founded, he gave the recruiter conducting the search an unusual instruction: Find candidates who aren’t professional fund…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Tax Bill Eases Limits on Retirement Plans Offered by Nonprofit Employers
Contained within the massive new tax law are changes to retirement-plan rules that could help nonprofit groups attract and keep employees, especially top executives. ALSO SEE:Lobbyists’ Labours Lost?Phaseout of Estate Tax Will Make It Tougher to Raise Funds Over Long Term, Experts Say The law puts…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Phaseout of Estate Tax Will Make It Tougher to Raise Funds Over Long Term, Experts Say
Even before President Bush had signed the $1.35-trillion tax-cut bill into law, and the Treasury Department began getting ready to send income-tax rebate checks to taxpayers, fund raisers were coming up with ways they could use the law to drum up donations. ALSO SEE:Lobbyists’ Labours Lost?Tax Bill…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Write-Offs: Hearing on IRS Sanctions; Tax Agency Issues Ruling on Foundation
By ELIZABETH SCHWINN The I.R.S. has scheduled a hearing for July 31 to discuss regulations designed to crack down on people who receive improper financial benefits from tax-exempt organizations. The Treasury Department issued temporary regulations to enforce the so-called intermediate sanctions law…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Treasury Declines Request for Competition Report
By ELIZABETH SCHWINNThe Treasury Department has decided not to prepare a report that members of Congress had requested on competition between for-profit and nonprofit health and fitness organizations. The department told the House Small Business Committee that the agency believes current tax laws…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
I.R.S. Seeks to Simplify Salary-Disclosure Rules
By ELIZABETH SCHWINNNonprofit organizations are being asked by the I.R.S. for their suggestions on how to simplify salary-disclosure requirements. The tax agency said it was concerned that many charities have said the rules are too hard to follow. Charities are required to list the salaries of…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor