The IRS has ruled in technical advice that although an organization is no longer a church, it will retain its tax-exempt status and be subject it to intermediate sanctions for automatic excess benefit transactions and political intervention.  MORE »

In technical advice, the Service has ruled that an individual's bequest to a sister who belongs to a religious order and took a vow of poverty does not qualify for an estate tax charitable deduction.  MORE »

Looking for an alternative or supplemental investment for a nongrantor charitable lead annuity trust? In this article from the August/September 2004 issue of the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, David Holaday and Rodney Piercey discuss the benefits and design considerations of using a combination of life insurance and single premium immediate annuity as the investment engine in a family limited partnership used to fund a charitable lead annuity trust.  MORE »

Despite intense lobbying efforts by the National Committee on Planned Giving and its membership, the Conference Committee completed the $146 middle class tax cut package (H.R. 1308) without including any provisions from either the CARE Act (S. 476) or The Public Good IRA Rollover Act (S. 283 and H.R. 4488). In a statement sent to its members on September 24th, NCPG urged members to continue to contact members of Congress to encourage them to add the IRA rollover provision to other pending tax legislation.  MORE »

The Service has granted a private foundation a five-year extension to dispose of its excess business holdings which consist of an interest in a securities and futures clearing firm held in LLC form. Due to their complexity and market conditions, disposition of the holdings within the initial five-year period was not possible, except at a price substantially below fair market value.  MORE »

The IRS has suspended the federal tax exemption of the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc., Ashland, Ore., under section 501(p), effective September 9, 2004. The organization has been designated as supporting or engaging in terrorist activities, and contributions made during the suspension are not deductible.  MORE »

In anticipation of the House and Senate going to conference regarding a middle class tax package extension (H.R. 1308), the National Committee on Planned Giving announced via email to its membership that it is contacting conferees to encourage them to add the IRA Charitable Rollover Provision to the package and issued a call to action to NCPG members to contact conferees with their support.  MORE »

The IRS has suspended the federal tax exemption of the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc., Ashland, Ore., under section 501(p), effective September 9, 2004. The organization has been designated as supporting or engaging in terrorist activities, and contributions made during the suspension are not deductible.  MORE »

The Service has granted a private foundation a five-year extension to dispose of its excess business holdings which consist of an interest in a securities and futures clearing firm held in LLC form. Due to their complexity and market conditions, disposition of the holdings within the initial five-year period was not possible, except at a price substantially below fair market value.  MORE »

For purposes of determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest, Revenue Ruling 2004-96 indicates the charitable federal midterm rate under section 7520 for October 2004 is 4.4%; down 0.2% from the September rate of 4.6% and down 0.4% from the August rate of 4.8%.  MORE »