Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP

News, Notes & Commentary



News

Notes

Commentary

Links to Sites of Interest


News

WHEN CELEBRITIES AND 501(c)(3)s COLLIDE—
THE PERILS AND THE PATHWAYS

Benefits can accrue to charities when celebrities act on their behalf, but what accrues to the celebrity could cause problems for the organization.
A reprint from: “Taxation of Exempts” Nov-Dec, 2011 By Mark B. Weinberg and Blake K. Behnke ...more**

**Copies of this article may NOT be included on ANY web site besides WJLAW.COM without written approval from Taxation of Exempts.


----------------------------------------


Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP Files Amicus Brief

Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief to Protect the Privacy of Petition-Signers from Intimidating Government Disclosure ...more


----------------------------------------


Freedom of the Press for Us All!:

FEC Permits Some Speech.
Freedom of the Press...more ..

----------------------------------------


Lessening The Burdens
Of A Changing Government

This is an original article published in Taxation of Exempts in its January/February 2009 edition Volume 20, Number 4 and is reprinted here by permission of Taxation of Exempts. All rights reserved.
**Lessening The Burdens...more
Copies of this article may NOT be included on ANY web site besides WJLAW.COM without written approval from Taxation of Exempts.

----------------------------------------


REMOVING THE GAG:
FEC Permits Some Speech

Hidden under last year’s Christmas tree was a tiny present from the Federal Election Commission: a revision of the rules on “electioneering communications” to permit exempt organizations to run ads mentioning federal candidates even close to elections. http://www.fec.gov/law/cfr/ej_compilation/2007/notice_2007-26.pdf. It was a grudging gift, forced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC, 127 S.Ct. 2652 (June 25, 2007).
Removing the Gag...more ..

----------------------------------------


RECOMMENDED CGA RATES TO DROP APPARANTLY IN RESPONSE TO ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) today altered its recommended rates for charitable gift annuities issued after June 30, 2008. This is a significant development for planned giving. While ACGA has not made any statement to this effect, it appears that the weakening economy and the inability to get combined returns sufficient to support the higher rates to be paid under the old tables (for at least the near term) prompts this action.
CGA rates to drop...more

----------------------------------------


CHARITABLE GIVING FROM YOUR IRA UNDER THE PENSION PROTECTION ACT OF 2006

Under the new Pension Protection Act of 2006, one who is over 70.5 years of age can cause a distribution to be made from their IRA to a charity that will not cause any income to be taxed to the donor and will cause otherwise taxable amounts remaining in the IRA to be significantly reduced. It is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD

CHARITABLE GIVING FROM YOUR IRA ..more

----------------------------------------


Major Exempt Organization Provisions of the

Pension Protection Act of 2006

On August 3, 2006, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Title XII of the PPA contains 24 provisions affecting tax-exempt organizations. Some of these provisions are broadly significant; others affect only a narrow group of organizations. This memo describes some of those significant changes.

The biggest news is that the changes could have been far worse. For more than two years, Congress has considered many sweeping changes in the laws governing exempt organizations. Most of those provisions did not appear in the PPA, and thus appear to be dead for the remainder of 2006.

http://wjlaw.com/PensionProtectionActFinal.htm

-------------------------------------------------------

Sweeping Proposed Changes to Nonprofit Laws

The Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the Internal Revenue Service's regulation of tax-exempt organizations, has released a staff draft report suggesting many dramatic changes in laws governing charities and other exempt organizations. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Committee, announced that he intends to introduce bipartisan legislation this fall to incorporate at least some of these changes.
http://wjlaw.com/SENATEFinanceStaffLetterMemo.htm

W&J Expands Contacts With South African Charitable and Educational Organizations

Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani has expanded its contacts with South African charitable and educational organizations. Mark Weinberg now speaks on a daily basis with representatives of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the University of Natal. Support for these organizations is being focused to exclusively charitable and educational programs through domestic "Friends" organizations. Anyone who is aware of corporations, individuals or private foundations having an interest in supporting programs of this type, please contact us.


W&J Develops Expertise in State Licensing for Collection Agencies

Through its representation of several major collection agencies, the firm has developed substantial expertise in state licensing requirements. Ronald D. Jacobs leads the group of attorneys and staff that provide new licensing and renewal licensing services on an ongoing basis for our clients. Interested corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships should contact us to discuss their specific needs and requirements.



Notes

Public Disclosure Requirements for Tax-Exempt Organizations

 To enhance accountability and maintain its tax privileges, a tax-exempt organization must meet certain transparency requirements. Essentially, it must allow the public to inspect core documents. To successfully discharge this obligation, the tax-exempt needs to identify those documents that must be released for inspection, set aside other documents or sections contained therein that may be excepted or privileged, specify locations where inspection may take place, navigate through time constraints, balance resultant costs with reasonable fees, and avoid penalties for non-compliance. This article is meant to provide a helpful roadmap. It neither covers the subject exhaustively, nor is it legal advice. Interested parties should consult their legal counsel for definitive advice.
 
With the new regulations that became effective on March 13, 2000, the IRS subjected private foundations to practically all the public inspection requirements applicable to other tax-exempt organizations. In pertinent IRS "speak," a private foundation is an organization that meets the definition of section 509(a), or an organization subject to the reporting requirements of section 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code (pursuant specifically to section 6033(d)), i.e. a non-exempt private foundation.



Overview of the Philanthropy Protection Act of 1995

 The Philanthropy Protection Act of 1995 limits the scope of a class action law suit brought against certain charities and protects charities in the future from claims of securities violations under certain conditions. Charitable organizations should follow the link in the heading and read the full text of the note to determine if they are affected by this legislation.



Commentary

Separate Penalty Taxes On Management:
A Close Look At How Managers Are Jeopardized
By Intermediate Sanctions

 The new legislation attempts to build upon lessons learned from administration of the Private Foundation rules that have been in place for over 25 years, plugging loopholes that appeared over that time. As with the Private Foundation rules, however, administrative difficulties will be encountered in applying the Intermediate Sanctions. Some of these are obvious now, others will appear in time. An Organization Manager is at risk for transactions in which he or she participates that provided excess benefit either to a disqualified person or to themselves. The interrelationship between the two exposures is complex and confusing; considerable effort by the Service, counselors and the leaders of nonprofit organizations will be required to clarify this situation. Organization managers should follow the link in the heading and read the full text of the commentary to determine if they are affected by this legislation.



Links to Sites of Interest


There are many indexes to the web. Rather than present a comprehensive list of links, we believe it is more useful to highlight selected links in specific areas of interest. Our current list of links focuses on Federal, state and local governments:



Back to home page
Business & Corporate
Estate Planning & Administration
Tax Exempt Organizations
Employment
How to Contact Us
About Our Firm
Who We Are
Search Our Site
Sign Our Guestbook

Copyright © 1995,1996,1997,1998, 1999, 2000 Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP. All rights reserved.