April 23, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Internal Revenue Service is not backing away from its controversial efforts to promote good governance by charities, according to its top nonprofit regulator.
The federal tax code does not explicitly set out governance standards for the IRS to enforce, but the tax agency in the past two years has been keeping an eye on charities' governance practices -- a move that has drawn criticism from some observers.
Grant Williams
April 16, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — As Congress eventually moves to consider making broad changes to the nation's tax structure, proposals could emerge that would take into account a "blurring of the lines" in recent years between nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies, according to Russell Sullivan, staff director for the Senate Finance Committee.
"We might see the emergence of some proposals to establish what I'll call, for the lack of a better term, a for-benefit corporation -- something that is in between a private taxable company that's under our rules of C corporations or S corporations and partnerships but also not under our rules having to do with charities," he said.
March 17, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The number of charities and private foundations registered with the Internal Revenue Service increased by 4.3 percent from 2008 to 2009, reaching a total of more than 1.2 million, according to figures released by the tax agency.
March 1, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The vast majority of nonprofit organizations that responded to a recent accounting survey said they coped with the bad economy in 2009 with all-around cost cutting.
Feb. 3, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The $3.8-trillion federal budget that President Obama has proposed for 2011 seems to avoid major cuts in many social-service programs and adds money to some.
December 7, 2009, Chronicle of Philanthropy - The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would permanently keep the estate tax at levels that are in effect this year.
Washington, October 15, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy -- The Internal Revenue Service is not doing enough to make sure that donors of motor vehicles — and the charities that receive the gifts — are following the law so that donors do not take unsubstantiated tax deductions, according to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
October 13, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday passed health-care legislation that would allow small charities to receive a tax credit to help them provide health insurance to their employees.
Washington, August 26, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — Americans reported making donations of $46.8-billion in noncash gifts in 2006, counting only the taxpayers who took total deductions of more than $500 for such gifts during the year, according to a new report from the Internal Revenue Service.
June 1, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Internal Revenue Service has released the third in a series of tips to help nonprofit organizations prepare their Form 990 informational tax return, the primary document that groups file each year.
May 19, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The two top members of the Senate Finance Committee have released what they call policy options for revamping the nation’s health-care system that include a change in how the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals would be handled under federal law.
April 20, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Internal Revenue Service has announced a change in leadership in the office of its top charity regulator.
Washington, April 7, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Internal Revenue Service is working to help “protect the trust and confidence” in nonprofit organizations during the current economic crisis and will be watchful of possible abuse, says Lois G. Lerner, who oversees the IRS office that monitors charities and foundations.
In a speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama called on lawmakers to pass a bill that would greatly increase participation in national-service programs.
The Internal Revenue Service today released findings from a much-anticipated study of nearly 500 nonprofit hospitals that is sure to raise controversy over how much compensation hospitals pay to top officials and how hospitals set that compensation.
