Thursday (6/29) on the Chronicle of Philanthropy website, Suzanne Perry writes, “Nonprofits should pay more attention to the questions that federal policy makers are asking about the tax breaks that benefit charities, says Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector, the coalition of charities and foundations. Partly because of budget pressures, both President Obama and Congress are conducting an ‘extensive look at the sector the likes of which I don’t think we’ve seen in 50 years,’ Ms. Aviv said in an interview with The Chronicle. ‘And the biggest danger of all of this is that nobody’s paying attention.’ Ms. Aviv cited President Obama’s proposal to limit the value of the charitable deduction for wealthy taxpayers, the desire of Mr. Obama and prominent lawmakers to simplify the tax code, and questions that Congressional aides have been asking about how tax law should treat ‘hybrid’ organizations–those combining aspects of both nonprofit and for-profit businesses. She says the basic concept that charities should be tax exempt is at risk, noting that federal policy makers are keeping an eye on the fees that some states and cities have started imposing on charities in lieu of taxes. ‘There’s a tsunami that’s in the making right now,’ she says.” Click here to watch the full video interview.
Posted June 30, 2011
