New Publication on Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations | Planned Giving Design Center

New Publication on Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations | Planned Giving Design Center: The IRS has released Publication 598, Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations, in which it describes which organizations are subject to the tax, return filing requirements, what an unrelated trade or business is, and how to calculate unrelated business taxable income.

Idaho Eyes Limits on Vanity Plates to Benefit Nonprofits - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

Idaho Eyes Limits on Vanity Plates to Benefit Nonprofits - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: n the ongoing debate over vanity license plates that benefit designated nonprofits, Idaho could step out among the various states by putting at least a tiny restriction on these specialty plates. The NPQ Newswire has regularly covered the proliferation of states issuing these plates (for example, see reports from South Carolina, Indiana, Arizona and Texas) for religious organizations and sometimes ideologically motivated nonprofits. The plates raise issues (for us and others) about using the state government’s imprimatur for private interests, including religious organizations and, in at least one case (Arizona), a political movement (the Tea Party).

Giving Summit 'in danger' unless cap on tax relief for major donors withdrawn, sector figures warn

Giving Summit 'in danger' unless cap on tax relief for major donors withdrawn, sector figures warn: Sir Stephen Bubb of Acevo says the measure, announced in the Budget, undermines next month's summit on philanthropy

The government’s Giving Summit in May is "in danger" unless the government withdraws a proposed cap on tax relief for major donors, charity representatives have warned.

'Give it back George' gift aid campaign gains momentum - Civil Society - Fundraising - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

'Give it back George' gift aid campaign gains momentum - Civil Society - Fundraising - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: A CAF and NCVO-led campaign calling on the Chancellor to exempt charitable donations from a cap on personal tax reliefs has gained over 340 official supporters, including 171 organisations.

Sector bodies demand meeting with Chancellor over tax relief cap - Civil Society - Finance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

Sector bodies demand meeting with Chancellor over tax relief cap - Civil Society - Finance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: The leaders of six of the sector’s representative bodies fired off a joint letter to the Chancellor yesterday requesting a meeting to discuss the impact on charities of the cap on tax reliefs announced in Wednesday’s Budget.

The letter, signed by the heads of NCVO, Acevo, Charity Tax Group, the Institute of Fundraising, Charity Finance Group and Charities Aid Foundation, warns of the “unintended conseq

Budget 2012: Charities relegated by Chancellor, says charity finance leader | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

Budget 2012: Charities relegated by Chancellor, says charity finance leader | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: This year, unlike the last which saw the announcement of a number of charity-specific provisions, the Chancellor's speech delivered only a fleeting reference to the sector. So has our political capital diminished as 'big society' slips further down the agenda? One could be forgiven for thinking so.

Closure of NZ Charities Commission is 'against the flow' of regulation worldwide - Civil Society - Governance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

Closure of NZ Charities Commission is 'against the flow' of regulation worldwide - Civil Society - Governance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: Former director of charity services at the UK Charity Commission David Locke says the imminent closure of the New Zealand Charities Commission is "against the flow" of charity regulation throughout the world.

Locke is currently living in Australia and working as part of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) implementation taskforce, responsible for seeing in the new regulator in the country.

Charity law 'vital' for sector to grow|2012 NPC and CPPCC|chinadaily.com.cn

Charity law 'vital' for sector to grow|2012 NPC and CPPCC|chinadaily.com.cn: China should speed up legislation on the charity sector to ensure that more grassroots organizations can gain legal status and charity fraud is outlawed, top lawmakers and political advisers have proposed.

“Noncontroversial” New Orleans Compensation Proposal Seems Controversial - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

“Noncontroversial” New Orleans Compensation Proposal Seems Controversial - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: The phenomenon of public officials using 501(c)(3) public charities to raise and distribute off-budget funding to supplement funds available for government functions is increasingly common. In New Orleans, La., Mayor Mitch Landrieu hired Charles Brown, the former library director of Charlotte, N.C., at a seemingly reasonable salary of $139,000. However, last November, when the deal with Brown was consummated, city government officials refused to comment on whether there had been any sweeteners added to the package to get Brown. One of the sweeteners that was not discussed was the possibility that non-governmental charities had added to Brown’s compensation. According to the Times-Picayune, state law does not allow public officials to receive compensation for their public duties from outside, non-govermental organizations such as the Library Foundation

U.S. should not reduce the rich's tax incentive to give to charity | NJ.com

U.S. should not reduce the rich's tax incentive to give to charity | NJ.com: I understand the president’s ongoing objective here: He is attempting to level the playing field such that individuals and families of all income levels can give to charity and receive equitable tax benefits. Although equity is a laudable goal in other areas, shouldn’t the objective of philanthropy instead be to maximize revenue paid to the social sector, thereby better capitalizing charitable organizations that seek to help our society’s most vulnerable?

Instead of reducing the tax incentives (or any incentives) of charitable giving, every effort should be made to incentivize wealthy Americans — those who can afford to give generously — to continue donating to tax-exempt organizations of their choice, especially those charities providing services to the needy.

Oklahoma House passes bill to keep charitable payroll deduction for state employees | NewsOK.com

Oklahoma House passes bill to keep charitable payroll deduction for state employees | NewsOK.com: State employees would continue to be able to make charitable contributions through payroll deductions under a measure approved Thursday by the House.

President Obama’s Faith-Based Council Drops Out of Sight - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

President Obama’s Faith-Based Council Drops Out of Sight - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: For two days last week, a small portion of the press reported that President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships had faded into the sunset. Actually, it seems that it disappeared a year ago or more, but it seems few noticed until recently. The council issued a long report in March of 2010, outlining President Obama’s approach to governmental partnerships with faith-based entities, after which the “first advisory council” disbanded, as it was obliged to do on the production of the first report, and half of a “second” advisory council was appointed. But the other half of the appointees were never announced and the panel basically faded into the woodwork. Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called it “the mysterious, disappearing faith-based council.”

Senate moving to restrict lawmakers' use of nonprofits - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Senate moving to restrict lawmakers' use of nonprofits - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: HARRISBURG – A state Senate panel today gave early approval to a rule that says senators and their family members can`t be affiliated with nonprofit corporations that receive state funding just hours after a former House member was convicted of misusing a state-funded nonprofit.

The rule was approved on a preliminary basis by the Rules Committee and is slated for a full Senate vote Tuesday. The Senate Resolution by Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, was introduced in April 2011.

A House rule prohibiting "legislative nonprofits" was approved in 2009.

Bill Would Exempt Private Foundations from Excess Business Holdings on Certain Philanthropic Enterprises | Planned Giving Design Center

Bill Would Exempt Private Foundations from Excess Business Holdings on Certain Philanthropic Enterprises | Planned Giving Design Center: The Philanthropic Enterprise Act of 2012, introduced by Rep. David G. Reichert, R-WA, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt private foundations from the tax on excess business holdings in the case of certain philanthropic enterprises which are independently supervised, and for other purposes.