Education Group Wrote Fla. Law to Protect Its Corporate Aid - State Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Education Group Wrote Fla. Law to Protect Its Corporate Aid - State Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A new Florida law expanding corporate tax breaks for contributions to a scholarship program was drafted by the nonprofit group that offers the student aid, says The Florida Times-Union.

Step Up for Students, in Tampa, composed and submitted the bill to Republican state Rep. Mike Horner, who subsequently asked the organization to break down each provision in the measure on a “cheat sheet” so he “would not embarrass myself or you” in legislative debates, according to e-mails reviewed by the Jacksonville newspaper.

Don't pick pockets of nonprofits | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Don't pick pockets of nonprofits | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com: The Obici Healthcare Foundation's request for a property tax exemption has given Suffolk officials a reason to reconsider the city's policy toward nonprofits.

SOI Tax Stats - SOI Bulletin: Summer 2011

SOI Tax Stats - SOI Bulletin: Summer 2011: SOI Tax Stats - SOI Bulletin: Summer 2011

NYS Requests Financial Records from Nonprofits - WNYC

NYS Requests Financial Records from Nonprofits - WNYC: financial records of state-funded nonprofit organizations. A newly-created task force has asked non-profits to provide detailed information, including salaries of top executives earning over $100,000, annual revenue and how much money they pay out to grant recipients.

Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the Department for Financial Services, said some state-funded nonprofit groups receive big benefits, like property and corporate tax exemptions, in exchange for the services they provide.

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N.J. Drops Proposal to Require Charities to Tell Donors They Can Earmark Money - State Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

N.J. Drops Proposal to Require Charities to Tell Donors They Can Earmark Money - State Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: New Jersey regulators have decided not to pursue a proposal to require charities to tell donors they can earmark their contributions for specific programs, an idea that had drawn strong criticism from nonprofit leaders.

IRS Finally Issues Guidance on 2010 Estate Tax

IRS Finally Issues Guidance on 2010 Estate Tax: "Estates of decedents who died in 2010 finally have guidance from the IRS on how to opt out of estate tax treatment and allocate carryover basis to estate property. The guidance is long overdue, and leaves little time for estates to make decisions that could have a massive tax impact."

Calif. Gets Tougher on Granting Tax Exemptions to Nonprofits - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Calif. Gets Tougher on Granting Tax Exemptions to Nonprofits - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Tax officials in California are increasingly denying exemptions to nonprofit groups they contend do not do enough to benefit state residents, according to The New York Times."

AICPA Comments on Form 990 | Planned Giving Design Center

AICPA Comments on Form 990 | Planned Giving Design Center: "In response to Announcement 2011-36 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has commented on transitional issues and frequently asked questions involving the redesigned Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Of particular interest to charitable gift planners is AICPA's comment regarding the IRS' concern for protecting the identity of donors to split interest trusts by allowing organizations to exclude the names and addresses of contributors listed on Schedule B from the public inspection copy of the Form 990. The AICPA stated it 'believes that requiring disclosure of the name, address and EIN of certain trusts, including charitable remainder trusts, in Schedule R, Part IV would violate this privacy concept.'"

EO Update August 8, 2011

EO Update August 8, 2011: "1. New Form for Miscellaneous Determination Requests

The IRS has released a new form that tax-exempt organizations will use to request certain determinations about their tax-exempt status. In addition to foundation status issues, organizations will use Form 8940, Request for Miscellaneous Determination, to obtain advance approval of certain activities and exemption from Form 990 filing requirements. Organizations applying for recognition of exemption and at the same time requesting advance approval of scholarship procedures or exception from filing Form 990 should include their request with their Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3), rather than file Form 8940."

The Debt Deal and Struggling Nonprofits: A Real Satan Sandwich? | onPhilanthropy

The Debt Deal and Struggling Nonprofits: A Real Satan Sandwich? | onPhilanthropy: "While the much-criticized “deal” to forestall the United States’ defaulting on its bonded debt obligations did avoid a take-down of the charitable deduction in the tax code, nonprofits and those who support them can hardly take comfort from the Tea Party’s grand bluff of the President and his Democratic allies in Washington. That’s because after three years of continued economic uncertainty and the inevitable cutbacks to nonprofit programs at the state and local levels that often reflect fewer Federal dollars over the long run, the Path ahead still looks rocky indeed."