A new academic study has concluded that 7.1% of all U.S. corporate charitable giving, about $1.3 billion annually, is politically motivated and correlated with the relevance of the Congressional representative of the charity’s district to the business interests of the corporation.  The authors conclude that this charitable giving may be a form of political influence that goes mostly undetected by voters and shareholders, and is directly subsidized by taxpayers.

The Tax Court has confirmed the action of the Internal Revenue Service in retroactively revoking the 501(c)(3) charitable status of the Association for Honest Attorneys.  The IRS had determined that the Association had been operating primarily for the private benefit of its founder as far back as January 1, 2010 and not in the public interest.

Congress has continued the prohibition on the Internal Revenue Service defining the limits of political activity for 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations in a provision buried deep within the 2,232-page Omnibus Spending Bill for 2018.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the right of the New York Attorney General to require organizations seeking to solicit contributions within the state to file a list of names of significant donors in order to register.  It has rejected constitutional claims by a related 501(c)(3) charitable organization and 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that attempted to raise arguments that had prevailed in similar litigation in California.  (See Nonprofit Issues^®, 12/16.

Is a personal trust entitled to a full fair market value deduction for a gift of real estate just like an individual or corporate taxpayer?  No, says the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in what appears to be a case of first impression in the courts.  It has reversed a District Court opinion and held that the deduction is limited to the adjusted tax basis of the property under the special provisions of section 642(a)(1) of the Tax Code.