Protecting Nonprofit 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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Effort to Revive CARE Act Fails

Lack of offsets to pay for the costs of new charitable tax deductions and disputes over the rules for a conference committee have appeared to doom an effort by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) to attach the CARE Act to S. 1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act (JOBS), which deals with extraterritorial income. On March 23, Santorum sought unanimous consent to move the JOBS bill, citing the support of Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). But Daschle withdrew his support because House Republicans have excluded Democrats from conference negotiations with the House.

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FEC Urged to Narrow Rulemaking on Scope of Regulation

Three campaign finance groups have written the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging them to narrow the scope of their proposed rule on what groups must register as “political committees.” The three groups are hoping that the FEC can resolve what they deem the most pressing issues for this election cycle. The FEC has not yet responded to their request.

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"Voluntary" Guidelines to Prevent Terrorist Financing Called Poorly Designed

The Treasury Department’s “Voluntary Best Practices for U.S. Based Charities,” are poorly designed for their stated purpose of helping prevent diversion of funds to terrorists. Several speakers made that assessment at a recent Philanthropy and Security forum, hosted by Georgetown University’s Center for Democracy and the Third Sector , which focused on the merits of the Treasury Department guidelines.

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Wisconsin Considering Copying Federal Rule on Issue Ads

A recent move by the Wisconsin State Elections Board may foreshadow a coming trend that bodes ill for issue advocacy—namely, attempts to regulate such activity. On March 10, the board decided to proceed with drafting a new rule that would regulate so-called “issue ads.” The state board’s rule borrows elements of the new definition of “electioneering communications” under federal campaign finance law. Unlike the federal law, however, the Wisconsin rule does not ban corporations, labor unions or nonprofits from paying for these communications.

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The Corporation for National and Community Service to Address Program and Policy Issues

Both Congress and the President have asked the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to undertake formal rulemaking to address significant program and policy issues. President Bush has instructed CNCS to improve accountability and efficiency in administrating its programs. In an Executive Order, the president asks that the Corporation adhere to four “fundamental principles” when making these changes. The four include expanding opportunities for faith-based and community organizations and raising more money from the private sector and state and local governments.

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Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members Advocate for the Legal Services Corporation

Sixteen Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members sent a letter to the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies (CJS) urging that Congress reconsider restrictions placed on Legal Services Corporation’s (LSC) grantees.

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IRS Seeks comments on Form 8453 for Exempt Organizations

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is soliciting comments from the public concerning Form 8453-EO, Exempt Organization Declaration and Signature for Electronic Filing. The March 5 Federal Register announcement request for comments noted that comments should address:

Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility;
the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden of the collection of information;

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FEC Begins Rulemaking on Scope of Regulation

In preparation for this rulemaking, the Alliance for Justice, Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and OMB Watch developed four principles that we believe must be incorporated into any rule the FEC adopts. The principles are available at www.nonprofitadvocacy.org Click here to see the FEC's Federal Register Announcment.

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Study on Grants by Conservative Foundations Published by NCRP

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has published Axis of Ideology: Conservative Foundations and Public Policy, a follow up to its 1997 report on conservative philanthropy. The research showed that conservative foundations continue to be more likely to provide flexible core operating and long-term support to their grantees than other foundations.

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Possible House Hearings on Exempt Status for 501(c) Groups

In a March 2 speech to the Federation of American Hospitals, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-CA) said he wants the committee to investigate the benefits tax exempt groups give taxpayers, and consider whether more specific requirements should be imposed in exchange for exempt status. A committee spokesman said nothing has been scheduled.

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more resources

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

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

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

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

Effort to Revive CARE Act Fails

FEC Urged to Narrow Rulemaking on Scope of Regulation

"Voluntary" Guidelines to Prevent Terrorist Financing Called Poorly Designed

Wisconsin Considering Copying Federal Rule on Issue Ads

The Corporation for National and Community Service to Address Program and Policy Issues

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members Advocate for the Legal Services Corporation

IRS Seeks comments on Form 8453 for Exempt Organizations

FEC Begins Rulemaking on Scope of Regulation

Study on Grants by Conservative Foundations Published by NCRP

Possible House Hearings on Exempt Status for 501(c) Groups

Pages

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

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

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

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

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

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

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