IRS Panel Says Donors Exaggerate Value of Artwork
The Internal Revenue Service’s Art Advisory Panel has reviewed and recalculated the values 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 committee found that many people exaggerated the…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
IRS Adjusts Rules on Allowable Deductions
The I.R.S. has announced several changes for the 2000 tax year that adjust tax laws to reflect inflation. One change affects the way donors calculate their deductions. Federal law allows donors to take income-tax deductions only for the portions of their contributions that are outright gifts. If…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
Charity: a Campaign Front-Runner
Charity issues have become a hot topic among ALSO SEE:Lamar Alexander, RepublicanBill Bradley, DemocratGeorge W. Bush, RepublicanElizabeth Dole, RepublicanAl Gore, DemocratDan Quayle, Republican Presidential hopefuls staking out their positions for the 2000 campaign. Contenders from both major…
By Grant Williams and Jennifer Moore
Charity: a Campaign Front-Runner
Charity issues have become a hot topic among Presidential hopefuls staking out their positions for the 2000 campaign. Contenders from both major political parties have been promoting a variety of strategies that all share a common goal: to find ways for the government to do more to help non-profit…
By Grant Williams and Jennifer Moore
* The YMCA of the USA and a group of for-profit health clubs have each weighed in with their differing opinions of how the I.R.S. should view the intersection of charities and businesses. Last year Congress ordered the revenue service to review its standards to make sure that charities that run…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
Bill Would Encourage Gifts From Retirement Funds
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, has introduced a bill that would provide an incentive to donors who want to give funds to charity from their individual retirement accounts. The measure, the I.R.A. Rollover to Charity Act, would allow people age
By Grant Williams
Contributor
* Elaine L. Chao, former president of United Way of America and currently a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, says that adoption of a flat tax in place of the current income tax would be good for charities -- even if taxpayers would no longer be able to take charitable-contribution deductions. The…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
IRS Panel Says Donors Exaggerate Value of Artwork
The Internal Revenue Service’s Art Advisory Panel has reviewed and recalculated the values of hundreds of pieces of artwork claimed by taxpayers who donated them to charities or left them to heirs. As it has in the past, the committee found that many people exaggerated the value of paintings,…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
Charitable Deductions Up Sharply, IRS Says
Preliminary tax data released by the Internal Revenue Service show that the deductions Americans claimed for charitable contributions increased by 18.5 per cent from 1996 to 1997. The government said that deductions climbed from $85.6-billion to $101.4-billion. An important caveat: The I.R.S.…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
*U.S. Reps. Philip M. Crane, Republican of Illinois, and Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts, have introduced a bill, HR 1311, that would allow people age 59 1/2 and older to donate assets from their individual retirement accounts to a charity without incurring an income-tax liability. Mr.…