Charitable giving, nonprofit tax rules, and what donors and organizations need to know to give (and receive) the right way.
You probably think that I’m talking about the fact that for some disturbing reason, retailers have packed the stores with Christmas goodies – and Halloween isn’t even over yet (who buys stuff this early anyway?). But I’m not. I’m talking about solicitations. It’s the time of the year when charitable organizations come calling. So far…
There’s a great post over at Election Law by Donald B. Tobin about the controversy surrounding a sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Rector Emeritus at All Saints Church on October 31, 2004. The sermon was thought to have crossed the line with respect to the prohibition against churches participating in election…
No, that’s not a typo. These days, it seems, it is all about the dollars. Even in college sports – or maybe especially in college sports. The headline on this week’s Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday Edition, blared “Raising Funds – and eyebrows” – the story about the push to raise money for colleges through athletics made…
I was wrong about the Red Cross – well, a little bit. I previously reported that they provide no financial incentives for donating blood but that’s not exactly correct these days. This week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Kimberly Fulton of Swedesboro, NJ, has won a year’s supply of gasoline in the first of two…
Taxpayer asks: I regularly donate blood to the Red Cross. Can I deduct this on my taxes? Taxgirl says: This is by far the most interesting question that I’ve ever received on Ask the Taxgirl – and I’ve received some pretty good queries! It’s interesting because my first thought was “why not?” It’s a product….
With just the click of a mouse, you can now pay your power bill, reconcile your checking account and make a donation to your church. Yep, you read the last part correctly. In response to recent changes which now require a taxpayer to have a bank record or written communication from a qualified charity to…
No, not Paris and Nicole. Italia and Jack. As in Italia Federici, president (still!) of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), and Jack Abramoff. Federici has entered a guilty plea to one count of income tax evasion and one count of obstructing the U.S. Senate’s investigation into Jack A. Abramoff’s corruption activities. CREA…
Joan Collins has expressed her outrage at a fraud scheme which has been confirmed by the UK involving children’s charities. The charity in question was founded by Trevor England, 60, of Carmarthenshire, and Mary Johnson, also 60, of Warrington, who were both were jailed after a judge heard they stole more than £500,000 (as of…
A lot of people have harsh things to say about politicians. You have to have pretty thick skin to run for office these days. You’ll get called every name in the book… including, apparently, Satan. Liveprayer.com is making news these days because of a widely quoted public statement that a vote for Mitt Romney is…
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! In the last presidential election, we heard quite a bit about the so-called 527 organizations like “Swift Boats for Truth”. To recap, 527 organizations are named after 26 U.S.C. § 527 – basically section 527 of the Tax Code (the Tax Code is Title 26). Generally, tax exempt organizations…