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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Thursday, August 05, 2010
Campaign Staff: Employees or Independent Contractors?
Harry Reid's campaign has raised the issue in Nevada with regard to Sharron Angle's campaign workers.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
OMB Watch: Americans United Files IRS Complaint Against L.A. Church for Electioneering Through Social Media
OMB Watch has this piece on a recent complaint filed with the IRS against a church that encouraged its members to vote for a specific candidate: "Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against Oasis Church in Los Angeles. Americans United alleges that the church encouraged visitors to its website and followers on Twitter to support a specific political candidate. According to the complaint, one of the messages on the website said, "Our very own Alex Jones-Moreno, Director of Social Justice, is running for reelection. We are asking everyone who attends, serves, gives or is a part of Oasis Church to please cast your vote for Alex Jones-Moreno during the upcoming elections.'"
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
New York Times on the Growing Number of Public Charities
The New York Times has this article on the growing number of public charities, but the focus of the article is the "lost tax revenue" that charitable donations cause the federal government. From the article, "The number of organizations that can offer their donors a tax break in the name of charity has grown more than 60 percent in the United States, to 1.1 million, in just a decade. Experts say nonprofits are skillfully exploiting the tax code’s broad and elastic definition of what constitutes such a charity, making it difficult for the Internal Revenue Service, which must bless them, to say no. The agency approved 99 percent of the applications for public charity status last year, according to a new study by students at Stanford University — or more than one every 10 to 15 minutes. . . . The $300 billion donated to charities last year cost the federal government more than $50 billion in lost tax revenue."
And at least one member of Congress, Representative Xavier Becerra, a Democrat from California, apparently misses those tax dollars: "“Especially during these tough economic times, it’s troubling to hear we are increasing the number of these organizations at such a rapid pace."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
New IRS Compliance Manual For Nonprofits
The IRS has released a new version of its compliance manual for nonprofit organizations (other than 501(c)(3) charities).
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Washington Times: IRS files $800,000 lien on '04 Kerry campaign; Senator says he paid bill
The Washington Times reports "The Internal Revenue Service has filed a tax lien seeking more than $800,000 from Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, escalating a dispute over payroll taxes that the lawmaker's office blames on faulty government paperwork. . . . The IRS filed the lien in the District of Columbia earlier this year, claiming that a previous attempt to collect the money was unsuccessful. 'We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid,' the tax filing stated. The IRS is taking action more than a year after the campaign closed its books and sent nearly $200,000 in leftover presidential campaign money to Mr. Kerry's Senate election fund."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New York Times: Charities Give to State Campaigns, Despite Law
From the New York Times: "For more than half a century, charities have been barred by federal law from making contributions to political campaigns. But the news does not seem to have reached Albany. A review of campaign-finance and federal tax records shows that at least 81 tax-exempt charities have given contributions to legislative candidates since 2005, with some organizations giving more than once to multiple candidates. While the amounts were not eye-popping, the contributions often flowed to lawmakers who helped the charities secure state money."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, March 02, 2009
AFL-CIO and Change to Win File IRS Complaints
The AFL-CIO and Change to Win filed a complaint with the IRS charging two 501(c)(3) organizations with improperly engaging in political activity during the 2008 election. Coincidentally, the two groups have opposed "check card" legislation supported by the AFL-CIO and Change to Win.
Click here to read the entire post.
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