The Senate Finance Committee yesterday approved a number of charitable reforms. The reforms, which were unexpectedly rolled into a tax-adminstration bill via Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) manager's amendment, includes increased excise taxes, requiring electronic filing of Form 990, and a requirement that non-profits that currently do not file tax returns at all to provide the IRS with general information every three years. Grassley issued a press release on the bill on Wednesday. He talked about the broad probe he has been conducting at abuses by tax-exempt groups. The press release says: In addition, he is looking at problems raised by the charitable foundations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a group called the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which some allege sets up non-profit groups to receive federal grants and engage in political advocacy. He has asked the IRS to describe plans to step up enforcement in the various areas of concern in the tax-exempt arena. According to the press release, he expects a response in the next several days to determine what will be the committee's "next steps". For a more detailed summary of the bill, see the JCT report