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Please check this page periodically for information on legislation and tax changes that affect our profession. Please refer any questions to PGGNE's government relations liaison via
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That Fog Still Hasn’t Lifted From the Estate TaxNew York Times, February 14, 2010 THE estate tax isn’t dead. It’s resting. The tax has been eliminated for 2010, but the estates of people who die before the year is out may still not pass free and clear to their heirs. The complexities of the tax system and the likely return of the estate tax next year — maybe even sooner — are creating confusion for accountants, lawyers and many families.
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Partnership for Philanthropic Planning®
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Legislative Update
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June 30, 2010
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"Extenders" Legislation Stalls in Senate
After a series of contentious votes in the Senate over the past couple of weeks in which Democratic leaders failed to garner 60 votes for a motion to invoke cloture or otherwise set a limit on debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) officially pulled House-passed extenders legislation (H.R. 4213) from the Senate floor. This legislation is the vehicle for a year-long retroactive extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover. Democratic leaders have not yet articulated a plan for how they will address extenders later in the session, but Senator Reid has indicated that the package will remain intact and none of its provisions will migrate to other legislation.
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Conference Committee Nears Agreement on Financial Reform Legislation
Now that both the House and Senate have approved versions of financial reform legislation, a House-Senate conference committee has been meeting to reconcile the many differences between the two bills. Importantly, the conference report on the legislation includes language advocated for by the Partnership and several other nonprofit organizations that would exempt all "activities relating to charitable contributions" from the jurisdiction of a new consumer financial protection agency. The Partnership and its coalition members recently wrote to conferees to ensure this language remains in the final legislation.
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Estate Tax Reform Could Move as Part of Small Business Legislation
The Senate has begun consideration of small business tax and lending legislation, which could potentially serve as a vehicle for an estate tax amendment from Senators John yl (R-AZ) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). Such an amendment, if allowed to be offered, would reinstate the estate tax in 2011 with a $5 million individual exemption and a 35 percent rate. Final passage of the small business legislation will not take place until mid-July at the earliest.
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Representative Introduces Nonprofit Legislation
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act (H.R. 5533), which would create a National Nonprofit Council composed of representatives of nonprofit groups, foundations, businesses, and state, local, and federal governments that would offer formal recommendations to Congress as well as a working group of high-level representatives from federal agencies who would discuss ways to improve relations with nonprofit groups and evaluate recommendations from the new nonprofit council. The legislation has been referred to several House committees for review, and Representative McCollum is currently working to solicit cosponsors.
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IRS Seeks Comments on Substantiation of Charitable Contributions
As part of the ongoing paperwork reduction process, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the existing final regulation on substation of charitable contributions. Written comments should be received on or before August 16, 2010.
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IRS Advisory Committee Releases Recommendations on Various Charitable Issues
The IRS Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities released a report containing recommendations on a number of charitable issues such as executive compensation for charities, the IRS's determination letter program, and improvements to the voluntary closing agreement program for tax-exempt, tax credit, and direct-pay bonds.
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Two Reports Indicate Charitable Giving Down in 2009
Giving USA announced that estimated charitable contributions in 2009 fell to $303.75 billion, down from 315.08 billion in 2008. This drop represents a fall of 3.6 percent in current dollars, but because the overall economy saw slight price deflation, the adjusted change in giving from 2008 to 2009 is actually a decline of 3.2 percent. The Giving USA figures calculate total charitable giving by more than 75 million households across the United States, more than 1 million companies, an estimated 120,000 estates, and about 77,000 foundations. A second report by the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College suggests that individual charitable giving in 2009 amounted to $217.3 billion, a decline of $11.2 billion or 4.9 percent from the estimated $228.5 billion total in 2008. This 5% decline is in addition to the 6 percent decline that the Center calculated for 2008. The full report will be published in the July/August 2010 issue of Advancing Philanthropy, published by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. |
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