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| home > legislative update > 03.21.07
Legislative Update – March 21st, 2007 On Capitol Hill: A Hunt For Revenue Raisers: In the wake of the list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams issued by the IRS, the top two members of the Senate Finance Committee – Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley – sent letters to the IRS Commissioner and Chief Counsel requesting a list of the “newest, biggest tax avoidance scams – including those using nonprofit groups – that deserve the Committee’s attention.” In publicizing the letters, Senator Grassley said, “The IRS says abuse of non-profits is one of its ‘Dirty Dozen’ tax concerns for 2007. We’ve worked to crack down on scams, but we’re not done. Until recently, there wasn’t much scrutiny in the tax-exempt area. Some people continue to use non-profits to enrich themselves. We need to make sure charities serve the needy, not the greedy.” [For a copy of Baucus/Grassley joint press release and letters to IRS Commissioner Everson and Chief Counsel Korb, click here]. This can be taken as a sign that the Finance Committee may consider revenue raisers from the charitable community to help pay for 2007 priorities. Philanthropy Caucus: A new Congressional Caucus has been formed to focus on issues related to philanthropy. The newly-formed Philanthropy Caucus will be co-chaired by Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC). In general, the goal of a caucus is to bring members together around a common policy platform. The caucus can serve as a conduit for the charitable community to share its challenges, its limitations and its goals with the Members of Congress. The announcement of this new caucus came on the heels of the Council on Foundations’ event last week entitled “Foundations on the Hill.” At the IRS: The IRS is seeking comments from the tax-exempt sector on a study that will be given to Congress. While the title of the study is "Donor-Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations," we understand the study is possibly intended to be broader. For example, on page 9 of the study, Question 4 focuses on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations payout requirements, but part (d) of that question broadens the focus to all tax-exempt entities, including foundations. The request for comments can be found at irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-07-21.pdf. Comments are due by April 9th. Independent Sector: As you may know, the Independent Sector has issued its second draft of principles on self-regulation and is currently seeking comments on this draft (click here to view the draft). Comments are due by March 30th. ACR encourages any interested party to read this draft and comment, if appropriate. To file online, please click here. |
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