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| home > policy/legislation > through 2006 > comments from the charitable community
Response to Joint Committee’s Tax Gap Study On January 27, 2005, the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation released a report listing a number of potential tax increases and new regulatory requirements for nonprofit organizations, among others. ABA Comments on Senate Reforms The American Bar Association Section of Taxation in a February 3 letter to the leaders of the taxwriting committees commented on the charitable giving incentives in S. 2020, the Tax Relief Act of 2005, passed by the Senate on November 18, 2005, specifically the charitable contribution deduction for nonitemizers. Study Shows Current Tax Laws Sufficient (.pdf) ACR Applauds Funding For Tax Enforcement The Alliance for Charitable Reform (ACR) strongly believes that the recent problems being investigated in the charitable sector by the Senate Finance Committee are, for the most part, enforcement problems, properly addressed by adequate enforcement of existing laws. Louisiana Post-Hurricane Community Audit (lsu.edu) Oppose Senate Provision Increasing the Tax Base Section 4940 of the U.S. tax code imposes an excise tax on the net investment income of a private foundation. This tax generates approximately $400-500 million a year and, according to the purposes described by the JCT, was intended to fund the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS – the division that identifies the “bad apples” in the charitable sector. Senate Tax Reconciliation Eliminates Grantmaking of Private Foundations Private foundations currently face limited obstacles should they wish to offer a grant to any type of supporting organization. Supporting organizations are nonprofit entities that are a subsection of an existing nonprofit organization (i.e. the Police Widow’s Fund). Oppose charitable "reforms" in the Senate Current law imposes an excise tax on the net investment income of a private foundation. This tax was originally enacted to fund the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS. The two-percent tax generates approximately $400-500 million annually; yet, the budget of the Exempt Organizations Division is a mere fraction of that total. On Tuesday, November 8th, 75 representatives of America’s charitable community came to Washington, DC for Congressional C.A.R.E. Day to call on Congress to pass the C.A.R.E. Act. ACR Applauds Katrina Tax Relief Package (.pdf) Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Through donations and gifts of time, money and resources Americans pull together to help others in times of disaster. This willingness to open their hearts, as well as their wallets, has been a defining characteristic of America’s philanthropic nature. WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE)—At the Senate Finance Committee's hearing on "Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform" on Tuesday April 5, the Alliance for Charitable Reform (ACR) called for increased penalties for those who break the law and for better enforcement of existing laws. Response to Sen. Santorum (.pdf) We, the undersigned, representing a wide variety of charitable institutions, are writing to express our deep concern with proposals by the Senate Finance Committee staff to substantially increase the regulatory burden on public charities. |
