November 27, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Private Foundations: Tax Law and Compliance, Second Edition
by Bruce R. Hopkins and Jody Blazek
Private foundations must follow “extensive federal tax-law requirements,” write Bruce R. Hopkins, a lawyer in Kansas City, Mo., and Jody Blazek, a partner at an accounting firm in Houston. This revised version of their 1997 book aims to help grant makers comply with those requirements, including rules pertaining to improper financial benefits to foundation officials and other insiders, mandatory distributions, excess business holdings, investments, taxable expenditures, and excise taxes on investment income. The authors also discuss the penalties that may be assessed if foundations fail to follow such regulations.
One section describes the types of expenditure foundations are allowed to make. For example, although they generally cannot spend any money to lobby lawmakers, foundations can support certain types of voter-education efforts and conduct research on social issues that are subject to legislative actions. In addition, the book describes how to gain approval from the IRS to make grants directly to individuals for travel and study.
The authors also offer advice on starting a foundation and filling out informational tax forms.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 1 Wiley Drive, Somerset, N.J. 08875; (800) 762-2974; fax (317) 572-4002; http://www.wiley.com; 628 pages; $150; I.S.B.N. 0-471-44438-3.
