The House of Representatives on January 20th unanimously passed H.R. 4462, legislation that would allow individuals who make charitable contributions to victims of the earthquake in Haiti to claim an itemized charitable deduction on their 2009 tax return instead of having to wait until next year to claim these deductions on their 2010 tax return.  MORE »

On January 15, 2010, House leaders Rangel, Camp, Clyburn and Cantor introduced a bill that would allow taxpayers to claim a charitable deduction for the 2009 tax year for charitable contributions made for Haiti relief.  MORE »

A coalition representing a broad cross-section of charities across the country has sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-MT, urging him to protect the value of the charitable deduction. A number of amendments to the America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 would cap the value of itemized deductions to 33 percent or 35 percent for taxpayers whose income tax brackets would increase to 36 percent or 39.6 percent in 2011.  MORE »

The Senate Finance Committee has issued a release in which it summarizes the tax provisions included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Charitable components include the IRA Rollover Provision, Basis Adjustment to Stock of an S Corporation Making Charitable Contributions of Property, Enhanced Charitable Deduction for Qualified Computer Contributions, Enhanced Charitable Deduction for Food Inventory, Enhanced Charitable Deduction for Contributions of Book Inventory to Schools, Temporary Suspension of Limitations on Charitable Contributions, Increase in Standard Mileage Rate for Charitable Use of Vehicles, and Exclusion from Income of Mileage Reimbursements for Charitable Volunteers.

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Texas Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson expressing their concerns about possible unintended consequences that may result from proposed rulemaking to historical supporting organizations. The letter comes in the wake of similar concerns expressed by other Texas legislators.  MORE »

In a March 14, 2008 letter to acting IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT) has expressed concerns and asked the Service to explain the basis on which it formed a "reasonable belief" that the United Church of Christ violated the Internal Revenue Code's ban on partisan electioneering by churches when Sen. Barack Obama addressed the UCC's 50th General Synod in Hartford, Connecticut on June 23, 2007. Lieberman also asks the Service to clarify its "inadequate" public guidance on the permissibility of candidate appearances at churches.  MORE »

Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Committee on Finance, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member, have written to four ministries to urge cooperation with an earlier information request from Grassley. Baucus and Grassley lead the committee with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over tax policy; the ministry inquiry that Grassley launched last November is meant to gauge the effectiveness of certain tax-exempt policies.  MORE »

A group of Oklahoma lawmakers have submitted a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson expressing their concerns over proposed rulemaking regarding non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations by suggesting that Treasury set a minimum annual payout requirement of 3.5% (as compared to the proposed 5%), which they believe is both "significant and sustainable."  MORE »

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators have expressed concern that Proposed Rulemaking regarding Type III Supporting Organizations will make it impossible for "historical" supporting organizations to meet the functional integration test. The group also opposes the proposed five percent mandatory distribution rule for non-functionally integrated organizations on the basis it would force untimely distributions thereby hurting long-term philanthropic support.  MORE »