Nonprofit Speech Rights

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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Senate Committee Passes Amended 527 Bill

An attempt by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) to extend federal campaign finance regulation to independent political groups has backfired in the Senate Rules Committee, which amended the 527 Reform Act of 2005 (S. 271), to repeal portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The vastly altered version of S. 271 passed by the committee on April 27 is a crazy quilt of amendments that restricts independent groups while lifting limits on business groups and PACs run by members of Congress.

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House Tax-Exempt Hearing

Apr 26, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Here is the link to the House hearing. The testimony is up, even though they have not posted the transcript yet.

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Money for Missions - Breakdown of Church/State Wall?

Apr 26, 2005 by Guest Blogger

For years, church-state separation advocates seethed each time Washington sent money to repair a historic structure that also held religious services, such as Boston's Old North Church or Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue. But not until now - with Congress' decision to spend $10 million to restore California missions that also hold Masses - have these advocates found what they consider the perfect "test case" to challenge the practice. Their recent legal effort to block the $10 million expenditure has a purpose that goes beyond the borders of the Golden State. For the whole scoop...

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Accountabilty Field Mtg Sponsored by Foundations

Apr 22, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Charities and philanthropies will speak out on ways to have more oversight and governance within the nonprofit sector at a Field Meeting at the Westin - Southfield (1500 Town Center) on April 27 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., in Southfield, MI.

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IRA Rollover Legislation Introduced in House

Apr 22, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On Wednesday, April 13, 2005, Representatives Wally Herger (R-CA) and Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) introduced a stand-alone IRA charitable rollover bill. H.R. 1607, the "Public Good IRA Rollover Act," allows individuals to contribute amounts currently held in IRA accounts directly to qualified charities without having to first recognize the income for tax purposes and then take a charitable deduction. For an outright gift to a charity, a person must be at least 70 1/2. For split-interest gifts (i.e.

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527 Reform Bill Sponsors Circulate Amended Version

A draft substitute amendment to S. 271, the 527 Reform Act of 2005, is being circulated by sponsors Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI). It removes some problems with the original bill, but still would subject independent political organizations to the same regulations as parties and federal candidates.

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Administration Stifles Dialog on Social Security

The Bush administration has denied use of public facilities to a group critical of its version of Social Security reform, while using federal resources to pay for propaganda and promotion of its agenda. It refused to allow a women's group to hold a conference on Social Security at the National Archives because they did not have a speaker supporting private accounts. The same week three people were ejected from a federal government supported town hall meeting on Social Security in Colorado because their car had an anti-war bumper sticker.

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Free E-Filing for IRS Form 990 Available

The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is offering free electronic filing for nonprofits that file the annual Form 990 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) online. The process offers features that make filling out the form easier and helps make it more accurate.

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Senate Finance Committee Discusses Nonprofit Accountability

On April 5, the Senate Finance Committee continued its examination of accountability, governance and oversight of the nonprofit sector in a hearing titled "Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform." The hearing focused mostly on the valuation of non-cash contributions, excessive compensation, transparency and the sharing of information.

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Senate May Hold Hearing on Land Donations

Apr 19, 2005 by Guest Blogger

At an American University College of Law conference on Monday, a Senate Finance Committee staffer indicated that the committee plans to hold another hearing this spring on abuses in the charitable sector. According to the staffer, the hearing will focus on land donations, including the committee’s review of the operations of The Nature Conservancy. The staffer did not indicate a date or time for the hearing.

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