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Thursday, August 24, 2006

United Way Summary of Charity Provisions of New Pension Law
From United Way:

United Way of America today released a preliminary review of the charity-related provisions in the Pension Reform Act of 2006, signed into law by President Bush on August 17.

To see the review onlineclick here

Posted by Kay Guinane, 01:37:15 PM

Monday, August 21, 2006

President Signs Bill on Charities
From the IRS website

On August 17, the President signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The new law contains numerous changes to the tax law provisions affecting tax-exempt organizations. Key provisions include the following:

Controlling organziations must report income from and loans to controlled organizations as well as transfers between controlled and controlling organizations. This provision is effective for returns due (without regard to extensions) after the date of enactment.*
Section 501(c)(3) organizations must now disclose unrelated business income tax returns (Forms 990-T) and make them available for public inspection. This provision is effective for returns filed after the date of enactment.
Private foundation and excess benefit penalty excise taxes are doubled.
Donor advised funds, supporting organizations, and credit counseling organizations are subject to new requirements.
Charitable contribution deductions for food, book, and certain conservation property are increased.
Charitable contribution deductions for monetary donations, certain easements, taxidermy property, clothing and household goods, and certain other items are limited.
Beginning in 2008, exempt organizations with gross receipts under $25,000 must file an annual notice.

Posted by Kay Guinane, 03:51:28 PM

Friday, August 11, 2006

IRS To Audit Utah Foundation With Ties to Leavitt Family
According to the :

The Internal Revenue Service plans to audit a Utah foundation that has ties to the Leavitt family, which includes the U.S. secretary of health and human services, Mike Leavitt.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 09:32:40 AM

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Donors Are Scared to Send Money for Lebanese Relief
There are donations of food and medicine for Lebanon, but charity leaders are finding that no one wants to give them money. Why?

From the Washington Post:

The problem, according to relief groups, is that many people who are inclined to write checks for emergency aid and reconstruction in Lebanon are afraid of ending up in some government database of suspected supporters of terrorism.
[...] Arab American leaders say this is one of the unintended consequences of the U.S. government's crackdown on charities run by Muslims. Though aimed at cutting off illicit funding for terrorist groups, the crackdown has complicated legitimate humanitarian relief efforts in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Detailed Technical Explanation of Charitable Provisions in Pension Bill
The House Joint Committee on Taxation has released a detailed summary of the Pension Bill. The charitable provisions begin on page 263.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:24:43 PM

Friday, August 04, 2006

Senate Passes Pension Reform, Sent to President for Signing
From National Journal's Earlybird:

Congress passed major pension legislation designed to assure American workers, including millions of baby boomers nearing the end of their working careers, that the pensions they have been promised will be there when they retire," AP reports. "The Senate, in its last vote before adjourning for a four-week summer break, approved the 900-page bill that compels employers with defined-benefit pension plans to meet their funding obligations and seeks to prevent companies from terminating plans and shifting the financial burden to the taxpayer."

The pension bill contained many charitable incentives and reforms, as detailed in earlier blog postings. Guidestar also has a nice summary.

The AP story can be found here.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:00:15 AM

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Frist on Pension Bill
Today on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called the House-passed pension reform bill (H.R. 4) “must-pass” legislation, claiming the Senate will clear the bill by the end of this week.

Senator Frist said, “It's just this simple: The pensions bill is must-pass. Must-pass!” He added, “The Senate must clear the pensions bill, clean, so the President can sign it this month. We will act, and pensions will get done, without amendment.”

For more, see www.501cstrategies.com.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:17:01 PM

Charities React to the Charitable Reforms/Incentives
From BNA:

The big fear had been that all the incentives in H.R. 4 might disappear and there would only be reforms left, United Way Public Policy Director Patrick Lester told BNA July 31.
"We were in danger of seeing most of these charitable provisions be used to offset tax cuts for the business community, rather than coming back to charities in any way." Because the reforms raise revenue, they could have been used for other purposes, but Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) insisted on pumping any gains back into the charitable incentives.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 09:37:48 AM

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Bill With Charitable Provisions To Move To Floor Tomorrow
Majority Leader Bill Frist will file a motion to proceed on the House-passed pension reform bill (H.R. 4) tomorrow, Aug. 2.

As discussed in a previous blog entry, H.R. 4 contains charitable incentives and reforms. For a summary of those provisions, see the Council on Foundations analysis.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:02:42 AM

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