http://www.ecfa.org ECFA is committed to helping Christ-centered organizations earn the public's trust through developing and maintaining standards of accountability that convey God-honoring ethical practices. en-us Copyright © 2010 ECFA 9/2/2010 11:19:25 AM 9/2/2010 11:19:25 AM http://www.ecfa.org ECFA information@ecfa.org information@ecfa.org 5 http://www.ecfa.org/Content/ECFA-and-Over-100-Ministries-Ask-Congress-to-Protect-Religious-Organizations-Rights.aspxECFA joined more than 100 religious leaders who have signed a letter distributed to members of the House of Representatives and Senate urging respect for religious hiring rights.Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/ECFA-and-Over-100-Ministries-Ask-Congress-to-Protect-Religious-Organizations-Rights.aspx2010-08-26T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Church-and-City-of-LaCrosse-WI-in-Federal-Court-Over-Tax-Exempt-Parsonage.aspxTo no one's credit, the parties have barely managed to make a federal case out of a dispute over $4,039.95 in property taxes on property owned by plaintiff Asbury United Methodist Church at 1818 Redfield Street, La Crosse WI 54601.Leagle.com, August 23, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Church-and-City-of-LaCrosse-WI-in-Federal-Court-Over-Tax-Exempt-Parsonage.aspx2010-08-26T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/World-Vision-is-victorious-in-defending-their-religious-hiring-rights.aspxThe hiring rights of World Vision, the international Christian humanitarian organization, were upheld August 23rd by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In a 2-1 ruling, the court affirmed that World Vision is a "religious association" and, therefore, comes under the nearly 50-year-old exemption under the 1964 Civil Rights Act allowing it to hire people of like-minded faith.Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/World-Vision-is-victorious-in-defending-their-religious-hiring-rights.aspx2010-08-26T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Rotary-Fraud-Kept-Quiet.aspxTwo years ago, $235,000 was embezzled from the Fort Myers Rotary Trust Fund. So why am I just telling you this now?News-Times, Ft. Myers, FL, August 23, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Rotary-Fraud-Kept-Quiet.aspx2010-08-25T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Baptist-Church-Is-Closed-but-Gets-Tax-Bill.aspxThe town of Whitman has sent a local Baptist church its first property tax bill in its 188-year history, surprising and dismaying members of the nonprofit corporation overseeing the recently shuttered house of worship.Boston Globe, August 19, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Baptist-Church-Is-Closed-but-Gets-Tax-Bill.aspx2010-08-20T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Federal-Court-Rules-Online-Worship-Group-Is-Not-a-Church.aspxA religious nonprofit organization that primarily conducts worship services via the Internet and radio does not meet the Internal Revenue Service definition of a church, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling reported on by The National Law Journal.Philanthropy Today, August 19, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Federal-Court-Rules-Online-Worship-Group-Is-Not-a-Church.aspx2010-08-19T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Grandfathered-Health-Plans-Rules-Raise-Concerns.aspxAnnounced by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the new grandfathered rules for health plans allow plans that existed on or before March 23, 2010 – the day the health care reform act was signed into law – to make “routine and modest adjustments” to co-payments, deductibles and employer contributions without forfeiting grandfather status. Plans will lose their grandfather status, however, if they choose to significantly cut benefits or increase out-of-pocket spending for consumers.Inroads, published by American Society of Association Executives, August 5, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Grandfathered-Health-Plans-Rules-Raise-Concerns.aspx2010-08-09T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/House-Fails-to-Repeal-Form-1099-Reporting-Rules.aspxA majority of House members last week agreed that new Form 1099 reporting requirements were onerous for small businesses and tax-exempt organizations but could not agree on how best to pay for repealing them.Inroads, published by American Society of Association Executives, August 5, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/House-Fails-to-Repeal-Form-1099-Reporting-Rules.aspx2010-08-09T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/New-York-Legislature-Passes-Plan-to-Limit-Charitable-Deductions-for-the-Wealthy.aspxNonprofit organizations across the country are concerned that a budget plan on the verge of adoption in New York State limiting charitable deductions for “high earners” could catch on with other cash-starved state governments—and Congress—and cause a loss of significant contributions.The Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 3, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/New-York-Legislature-Passes-Plan-to-Limit-Charitable-Deductions-for-the-Wealthy.aspx2010-08-04T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Lawsuit-Challenges-Income-Tax-Preferences-for-Clergy.aspxOnly rarely do taxpayers challenge the constitutionality of the tax laws. Rarer still are cases in which the constitutional challenge has substantial merit.The Exempt Organization Tax Review, August 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Lawsuit-Challenges-Income-Tax-Preferences-for-Clergy.aspx2010-08-04T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Pastor-Says-His-Church-is-Not-Described-in-the-Tax-Code.aspxA South Dakota pastor who has been reported to the IRS for alleged campaign intervention said that even though his church is tax exempt, it never sought tax-exempt status as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) and thus should not be treated as such an organization.The Exempt Organization Tax Review, August 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Pastor-Says-His-Church-is-Not-Described-in-the-Tax-Code.aspx2010-08-04T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Should-Clergy-Salaries-be-Public-Information.aspxBig-time pay for the bosses of nonprofits rankles many people, including some in public office.Dallas Morning NewsGeneralhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Should-Clergy-Salaries-be-Public-Information.aspx2010-08-04T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Baucus-Supports-Cell-phone-Fix-in-Tax-Bill.aspxSenate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) is supportive of including an amendment to remove cell phones from listed property in the broad small business tax relief bill he introduced June 29.ASAE Public Policy Division, July 1, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Baucus-Supports-Cell-phone-Fix-in-Tax-Bill.aspx2010-08-03T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Study-Reports-on-Where-Fraud-Occurs.aspxThe typical organization loses 5% of its annual revenue to occupational fraud and abuse.Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Study-Reports-on-Where-Fraud-Occurs.aspx2010-07-31T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Will-Your-Organization-Pass-on-any-Increased-Costs-Related-to-Health-Care-Reform.aspxAlmost one-half of organizations have decided not to drop health care coverage for employees as a result of the new health care reform law...SHRM Research: Health Care Reform Poll, June 28, 2Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Will-Your-Organization-Pass-on-any-Increased-Costs-Related-to-Health-Care-Reform.aspx2010-07-31T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Your-Grandfathered-Health-Insurance-Status.aspxA “grandfathered" health plan is a health plan that existed as of March 23, 2010—the day the reform law went into effect.Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Your-Grandfathered-Health-Insurance-Status.aspx2010-07-31T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Orphanage-is-Agency-of-Church-for-Housing-Allowance-Purposes-According-to-IRS.aspxThe IRS has held that an organization that provides homes for orphan children is an integral agency of a church, so that rental allowances paid to managers, executives, supervisors, or administrators who are ordained, licensed, or commissioned ministers employed by the organization are excludable from gross income under the parsonage allowance rulesThe Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations Monthly, August 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Orphanage-is-Agency-of-Church-for-Housing-Allowance-Purposes-According-to-IRS.aspx2010-07-30T17:00:00http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_363e80d6-9158-11df-bed1-001cc4c002e0.html.A former employee at a North Side church is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars, according to La Crosse police reports. According to the reports, Ann Carson took the funds from North Presbyterian Church, 1327 N. Salem Road, over the past decade by writing checks to herself, then logging them in account ledgers as paid to someone else, the reports stated.LaCrosseTribune.comGeneralhttp://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_363e80d6-9158-11df-bed1-001cc4c002e0.html2010-07-30T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Johanns-Pushes-Repeal-of-1099-Paperwork-Mandate.aspxSen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) has introduced a bill that would repeal a costly tax reporting provision in the new health care bill requiring all businesses and tax-exempt organizations to issue a Form 1099 to vendors from whom they buy goods totaling $600 or more annually.ASAE Public Policy Division, July 29, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Johanns-Pushes-Repeal-of-1099-Paperwork-Mandate.aspx2010-07-29T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/States-Seek-to-Limit-Nonprofit-CEO-Pay-as-Part-of-Budget-Cutting-Efforts.aspxSeveral states are looking for ways to curb salaries for top executives at nonprofit organizations that receive government aid, writes The New York Times.Chronicle of Philanthropy, July 27, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/States-Seek-to-Limit-Nonprofit-CEO-Pay-as-Part-of-Budget-Cutting-Efforts.aspx2010-07-28T17:00:00http://philanthropy.com/article/IRS-Extends-Key-Deadline-for/123688/?sid=&utm_source=&utm_medium=enThe Internal Revenue Service today announced how it will help thousands of small charities keep their tax-exempt status even if they missed their May 17 deadline for filing a new online form or are about to miss subsequent deadlines. Small groups at risk of losing their exemptions because they failed to file required informational tax returns for 2007, 2008, and 2009 on May 17 or later can preserve their status by filing returns by October 15, 2010, under “a one-time relief program,” the IRS said. “We are doing everything we can to help organizations comply with the law and keep their valuable tax exemption,” said Douglas Shulman, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. “So if you do not have your filings up-to-date, now’s the time to take action and get back on track,” he said.Chronicle of Philanthropy, July 26, 2010Generalhttp://philanthropy.com/article/IRS-Extends-Key-Deadline-for/123688/?sid=&utm_source=&utm_medium=en2010-07-28T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Advisers-to-the-Wealthy-Predict-Rise-in-Giving-to-Offset-Tax-Increases.aspxEighty-seven percent of financial advisers expect income taxes to increase for most of their clients in the next 12 to 18 months . . .The Chronicle of Philanthropy—Philanthropy Today, July 21, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Advisers-to-the-Wealthy-Predict-Rise-in-Giving-to-Offset-Tax-Increases.aspx2010-07-21T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Churches-and-charities-may-need-to-gear-up-quickly-to-report-health-benefits-on-W-2s.aspxStarting with W-2s for 2011, employers are required to report the value of company provided health coverage.The Kiplinger Tax Letter, June 25, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Churches-and-charities-may-need-to-gear-up-quickly-to-report-health-benefits-on-W-2s.aspx2010-07-19T17:00:00http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Flexible-Spending-Accounts-Can-Cover-Some-Herbal-Remedies.aspxThe IRS has privately ruled that flexible spending accounts (FSAs) can cover the cost of some herbal remedies.Internal Revenue Service, March 31, 2010Generalhttp://www.ecfa.org/Content/Flexible-Spending-Accounts-Can-Cover-Some-Herbal-Remedies.aspx2010-07-19T17:00:00http://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2010/07/16/19700/state_taxes_and_nonprofit_contributions_connecting_the_dotsNo sympathy, please, as nonprofit organizations like American Experiment lose donors all the time for a variety of reasons; that's the nature of the fund-raising beast. But on the same day last week that gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton released his 2009 tax return, including an itemization of his charitable gifts for the year, a long-time Center donor coincidentally (or not) announced he couldn't contribute anymore, as he was moving to Florida. A business owner nearing retirement age, he told me a few years ago that it made no tax sense for him to remain a Minnesota resident much longer. So after a spell, he's now formally on his way out.Minnesota Post, July 16, 2010Generalhttp://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2010/07/16/19700/state_taxes_and_nonprofit_contributions_connecting_the_dots2010-07-19T17:00:00