Calif. Senate Votes to Strip Boy Scouts of Tax Break - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Calif. Senate Votes to Strip Boy Scouts of Tax Break - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The California Senate has passed a bill that revokes the Boy Scout of America’s nonprofit status because it does not permit the participation of openly gay adults writes The Sacramento Bee.

State Charitable-Giving Deduction Is Safe in Minn. - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

State Charitable-Giving Deduction Is Safe in Minn. - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The controversial Minnesota House plan to change state charitable-deduction rules died in a conference committee on Thursday, reports the MinnPost.

Charity Definition Bill Reaches Parliament | Pro Bono Australia

Charity Definition Bill Reaches Parliament | Pro Bono Australia: The Federal Government has introduced the Statutory Definition of Charity Bill into Parliament with just four sitting weeks left before the Federal Election.

The Federal Government announced a later start date for the charity definition in the May Budget saying that it will now take effect from 1 January 2014, rather than 1 July 2013 as originally announced.

CAIRO: Proposed Egyptian law on nonprofits seen as echo of Mubarak era - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

CAIRO: Proposed Egyptian law on nonprofits seen as echo of Mubarak era - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com: CAIRO -- A draft Egyptian law regulating so-called nongovernmental organizations would limit the private, nonprofit groups in many of the same ways that the government of President Hosni Mubarak sought to control their operations – a sign, analysts here say, that President Mohammed Morsi fears that the groups could be used to oppose his government in the same way Mubarak supporters felt they’d helped topple his.

Tex. Governor Vetoes Bill on 'Dark Money' Nonprofit Groups - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Tex. Governor Vetoes Bill on 'Dark Money' Nonprofit Groups - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: exas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed state legislation Saturday that would have required nonprofit organizations engaging in campaign activity to disclose their donors, the Austin American-Statesman and The Texas Tribune report.

Never given to charity? Now’s the time | therecord

Never given to charity? Now’s the time | therecord: Flaherty said the government is reaching out to first-time donors to help develop a “culture of giving” among a new generation.

Currently 80 per cent of charitable donations are made by people 45 or older.

“We want to encourage young people to consider giving to charity,” Braid said in an interview.

The supercredit is good on a cash donation from a first-time donor of up to $1,000, claimed in one tax year between 2013 and 2017. As an example, giving $500 to charity with the supercredit returns $286 in income taxes to the donor compared to $161 with a normal tax credit.

IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center

IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center: The IRS has published a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding record keeping requirements for tax-exempt organizations, the types of activities in which they can engage, and notification requirements when material changes occur in their purposes or activities.

Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center

Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center: Summary

Last month the Internal Revenue Service published its final Colleges and Universities Compliance Project report, which included an examination of executive compensation in connection with the excess benefit transaction rules under IRC section 4958. In this article, PGDC contributing author Dennis Walsh, CPA examines the findings of the report and suggests actions to be taken and questions to be asked by nonprofits when setting executive compensation.

AG, lawmakers team up to reform nonprofits

AG, lawmakers team up to reform nonprofits: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman joined forces with members of the state Legislature in the hopes of passing two bills that would drastically reform New York's not-for-profit sector.

Welsh government opens voluntary sector consultation

Welsh government opens voluntary sector consultation: The Welsh government has opened a consultation on its relationship with the voluntary sector and is looking for views on how it can work in partnership with the sector.

Earlier this year, the Welsh government announced it was reviewing its funding of the voluntary sector. It plans to revise its three key policy documents for working with the sector when the consultation has been completed.

IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy - Leslie Lenkowsky - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy - Leslie Lenkowsky - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: But the inspector general’s report also teaches another kind of lesson, this one about the inherent difficulty in trying to regulate an increasingly attractive activity that is impossible to define clearly.

The solution might be simply to stop trying to impose limits on advocacy by any tax-exempt groups except charities.

Nonprofits Face Up to Tighter Compliance - Risk & Compliance - WSJ

Nonprofits Face Up to Tighter Compliance - Risk & Compliance - WSJ: If nonprofit organizations weren’t convinced of the value of having strong compliance programs, recent events should reinforce the need for them to take action.

Charitable Giving Coalition Urges Congress to Leave Charitable Deduction Intact | Planned Giving Design Center

Charitable Giving Coalition Urges Congress to Leave Charitable Deduction Intact | Planned Giving Design Center: The Charitable Giving Coalition has sent a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-MI., and ranking minority member Sander M. Levin, D-MI., in which it urges Congress to protect the charitable tax deduction as it currently stands.

IRS Issues Final Report on Colleges and Universities Compliance Project | Planned Giving Design Center

IRS Issues Final Report on Colleges and Universities Compliance Project | Planned Giving Design Center: The Internal Revenue Service launched its Colleges and Universities Compliance Project (CUCP) in 2008 when it distributed detailed questionnaires to 400 colleges and universities, requiring comprehensive reporting by those institutions on financial results of business activities such as alumni travel programs and facilities rentals not directly related to higher education. In this article, attorney David Wheeler Newman reviews the findings of the IRS' final report.

How Nonprofits Became Tax-Exempt - Bloomberg

How Nonprofits Became Tax-Exempt - Bloomberg: To create these institutions, early Americans adapted corporate laws from Britain. At first, incorporation required both for-profit and nonprofit organizations to obtain a charter from state governments. Charters were special laws passed by state legislatures and signed by governors under the rules of state constitutions.

Ministry of Justice rejects proposals to regulate will-writing

Ministry of Justice rejects proposals to regulate will-writing: The government has rejected the Legal Services Board’s recommendation that will-writing should be regulated - an announcement which has been branded "extremely disappointing" by Remember a Charity.

After a two-year investigation, the Board submitted its final decision on the regulation of will-writing, estate administration and probate activities in February. It recommended that the Legal Services Act 2007 be amended to include regulation of will-writing but not to include regulation of estate administration or probate services.

N.Y. to Consider Nonprofit Governance Overhaul - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

N.Y. to Consider Nonprofit Governance Overhaul - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: N.Y. to Consider Nonprofit Governance Overhaul

By Doug Donovan

New York State lawmakers introduced legislation on Tuesday designed to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles for starting a nonprofit and improve board oversight of executive compensation and contracts that could involve sweetheart deals.

The two bills—the Nonprofit Revitalization Act and the Executive Compensation Reform Act—were introduced after a year of work led by the New York attorney general’s office.

Nonprofit exec pay examined � Local News � The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

Nonprofit exec pay examined � Local News � The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA: Compensation for executives with nonprofits that provide state services has come under increased scrutiny as social agencies complain that the state is cutting funding. Lawmakers last year commissioned a study to determine what kind of compensation was given to nonprofit executives.

Ways and Means Committee Working Groups Report—Not Much There - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Ways and Means Committee Working Groups Report—Not Much There - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: On February 13, 2013, just before an all-day hearing convened by the House Ways and Means Committee to rile up the entire nonprofit sector that the charitable deduction was in jeopardy, Committee chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) announced the creation of 11 working groups of committee members to examine issues connected to federal tax reform. The 568-page report issued by the task force, written by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, includes a section on tax reform issues related to charities—the charitable deduction and more. We thought there might be specific recommendations coming from the task forces, conclusions about keeping the deduction as it is or capping it at President Obama’s 28 percent level or any of a number of alternatives. At least in this telephone book-sized document, it doesn’t appear that the task forces reached a specific conclusion about charities—or any conclusions at all.

Pa. Ends Hershey Trust Inquiry and Orders Governance Changes - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Pa. Ends Hershey Trust Inquiry and Orders Governance Changes - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Pennsylvania’s attorney general and the Hershey Trust announced a settlement Wednesday that ends a two-year state investigation of the $10-billion charity’s financial and property moves, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The deal with Attorney General Kathleen Kane imposes lower compensation and tighter board governance of the charity, which was founded in 1909 by chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey and his wife, Catherine. The trust operates a free private school for orphans and poor children.

Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy - Press - AFP

Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy - Press - AFP: Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy

The IRA Rollover, the non-itemizer deduction and the conversion of the charitable deduction into a tax credit are just some of the proposals included in the Joint Committee on Taxation’s report on the House Ways and Means Committee’s Tax Reform Working Groups.

Joint registration for HMRC and Charity Commission is getting closer, suggests Hodgson

Joint registration for HMRC and Charity Commission is getting closer, suggests Hodgson: The prospect of a single charity registration process for both HMRC and the Charity Commission is not far off, Charities Act reviewer Lord Hodgson hinted to a conference audience yesterday.

Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy - Press - AFP

Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy - Press - AFP: Taxation Committee Releases List of Reform Proposals for Charities, Philanthropy

The IRA Rollover, the non-itemizer deduction and the conversion of the charitable deduction into a tax credit are just some of the proposals included in the Joint Committee on Taxation’s report on the House Ways and Means Committee’s Tax Reform Working Groups.

IRS makes progress in creating Interactive Form 1023 | Philanthropy Journal

IRS makes progress in creating Interactive Form 1023 | Philanthropy Journal: he IRS Exempt Organizations Division (EO) announced an "exciting development" in its efforts to provide the long-awaited Interactive Form 1023. The IRS uses Form 1023 to determine whether applicants qualify for recognition as an exempt organization pursuant to IRS section 501 (c)(3), which allows them to receive tax-exempt charitable contributions.

Philanthropy beat: Minnesota charity tax break is under scrutiny | StarTribune.com

Philanthropy beat: Minnesota charity tax break is under scrutiny | StarTribune.com: The charitable tax deduction used by 173,000 Minnesotans who don’t itemize their income tax returns would end under a House proposal before a legislative conference committee.

It would be replaced by a charitable tax credit. That credit would not allow the donation to be deducted — dollar for dollar — from the filer’s taxable income.

Editorial Essayists Weigh In On Donation Cap - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Editorial Essayists Weigh In On Donation Cap - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: One of the more successful tactics of the coalition that is fighting President Obama’s proposed 28-percent cap on the deductibility of charitable donations is its domination of editorial and op-ed pages. Even though there hasn’t been a member of Congress with the political temerity to sound a peep of support for the President’s idea of capping charitable deductions, the charitable sector has opined and opined and largely set the frame of the public discussion of changing itemized deductions.