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Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

  UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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IRS Revises Application for Tax-Exempt Status for Charities, 501(c)(3) Groups

The IRS has released an updated version of the application for tax-exempt status for charitable, education, religious and scientific organizations. The new Form 1023 and instructions are available on the Web, and the IRS will require their use after April, 2005. Page ten of the instructions describes the prohibition on partisan electioneering and the allowable legislative lobbying limits. A copy of Form 5768, the notice that a group will measure its lobbying by expenditures only, is included in the package.

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New Corporate Tax Bill Limits Charitable Deductions

While conferees rejected last minute efforts to attach provisions of both the CARE Act and the Houses of Worship bill to the corporate tax bill, the legislation sent to the president does contain three provisions of particular interest to the nonprofit sector. The final bill:
  • Limits charitable deductions for vehicle donations to the sale price obtained by the charity
  • Limits the value that taxpayers can claim on the donation of a patent or intellectual property to a charity
  • Requires increased reporting for non-cash charitable contributions such as property.

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Independent Sector Names Accountability Panel

Congress recessed without taking action on Senate Finance Committee staff proposals outlined in a July discussion draft. However, the Finance Committee is pursuing the nonprofit accountability issues. It has asked Independent Sector (IS) to form a panel to recommend measures that would increase accountability and good governance in the sector. Independent Sector recently announced its panel, comprised of 25 nonprofit and philanthropic leaders from both public charities and private foundations.

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Senate Finance Committee Considers Nonprofit Accountability

The Senate Finance Committee has sent a letter to Independent Sector (IS), a coalition of 600 member organizations and foundations, asking IS to convene a national panel of nonprofit representatives to recommend legislative options to increase nonprofit accountability. The Sept. 22 letter follows Finance Committee hearings on nonprofit practices held in July that examined allegations of excessive compensation, tax shelters, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) noncompliance.

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Tax Bill May Include Church Electioneering and Charity Tax Provisions

While House and Senate negotiators are beginning to advance must-pass export tax repeal legislation (H.R. 4520, S. 1637 ), some lawmakers are beating down doors to slip legislation harmful to nonprofits into the bill by the backdoor -- a bill that would allow church electioneering.

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IRS Audits Nonprofits, Lets Big Business Slide

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun a major effort to examine internal financial issues of charities and foundations. IRS Announcement 2004-206, issued August 10, said nearly 2,000 charities and foundations will be contacted and asked for information about their salary practices and procedures. The effort will include a broader review of foundations that will eventually include examinations of over 400 organizations, and conclude in July 2005.

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JEC Press Release Misinterprets Evidence on Charitable Bequests

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 29, 2004 - The majority leadership of the Joint Economic Committee, in a recent press release dated July 28, 2004, pointed to an increase in charitable bequest giving as evidence that changes to the estate tax law have not impacted giving. Download Full Release (.pdf)

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Senate Finance Committee Holds Charities Roundtable

On July 22 the Senate Finance Committee held a closed door roundtable discussion with leaders and experts on the charitable sector to discuss a bipartisan staff proposal for reforms.

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House Lobby Disclosure and Reforms Proposed

Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA) announced July 14 that he is filing legislation to strengthen lobbying disclosure requirements and reform the way the House of Representatives operates. Supported by Common Cause, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen, Meehan said the legislation is needed because "... never before have special interest lobbyists claimed so great an influence over the policy process." The bill does not have a number yet.

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CBO Releases Two New Studies Examining Impact of Estate Tax on Charitible Giving

The Congressional Budget Office has released two new reports on the impact of the estate tax on charitable giving. The reports confirm that there is a significant negative impact on charitable giving that would result from the elimination of the estate tax.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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