Search

The article reports on important federal tax developments that have occurred in Australia in June 2013. A statutory definition of charity was included in the Charities Bill 2013, which was introduced into parliament on May 29, 2013. Parliament has received the Tax Laws Amendment aimed at improving the transparency of tax payable by large corporations. An interpretative decision was issued on work-related travel.

The article focuses on California's Non-profit Integrity Act for various charity and commercial fundraisers. This act came about after a fundraising by a retired police officer was found to be fraudulent and led to increase in wealth of the officer and fundraiser. Several termination clauses have been set for the contract between the commercial fundraiser and solicitation in accordance with the rules laid by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal law significantly limits the political activities of charities, but no one really knows why. In the wake of Citizens United, the absence of any strong normative grounding for the limits may leave the rules vulnerable to constitutional challenge. This Article steps into that breach, offering a set of policy reasons to separate politics from charity. I also sketch ways in which my more precise exposition of the rationale for the limits helps guide interpretation of the complex legal rules implementing them. Any defense of the political limits begins with significant challenges because of a long tradition of scholarly criticism of them. Critics of the limits suggest that the "market failures" that justify tax subsidies for charity also afflict group efforts to monitor politicians and organize politically, and thus the subsidy should extend to cover those activities. These claims, though, overlook a series of additional issues suggested by transaction cost economics and other aspects of economic theory. Most significantly, even if lobbying and electioneering should be subsidized, it does not follow that these functions should be carried out by charities. I argue that combining politics with charity may produce a set of diseconomies of scope, including higher agency costs, diminished "warm glow" from giving, and greater inframarginality of deduction recipients. In addition, I argue that the economically ideal tools for reaching the socially optimal levels of charity and lobbying are incompatible with one another. Although there are also offsetting gains from the combination, many of these gains further exacerbate the diseconomies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Ponzi schemes, purloined funds, and a proposed set of amendment to Florida's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (FUFTA) which are designed to limit a creditors ability to recover fraudulently transferred assets from charitable organizations as of April 2013. According to the article, Florida State Senator Nancy Detert introduced Senate Bill 102 which would provide protections for charities. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code is mentioned, along with a balancing of the equities.

The article focuses on the New Zealand court case In re Greenpeace of New Zealand Inc., which dealt with the political activity of charities. Topics include the damaging of the public trust and confidence of charities, political campaigning, and the requirements for registering as a charitable entity.

The article focuses on the New Zealand Law Commission's "Preferred Approach Issues Paper" governing the law of trusts. Topics include the duties of trustees of charitable funds, the limitation of liability and indemnity for trustees, and the investment powers of trustees. Information is provided on the appointment and removal of trustees.

The article focuses on the inquiry and examination of charities by the New Zealand government, particularly the Attorney General. Topics include the authority to open investigations into charities, the meaning of the term 'charitable purpose,' and the New Zealand Charitable Trusts Act of 1957. Information is provided on the removal and replacement of charity trustees.

The article focuses on the definition of charitable status under British internal revenue law. Topics include the threshold requirements for organizations that wish to apply for charitable status, the public benefit requirement, and the common law treatment of charities. Information is provided on the British Charities Act of 2006.

The article focuses on the mitigation of the effects of economic downturns on charitable giving in the U.S. Topics include the positive effects of charitable giving, the increase in demand for charitable services during economic crisis, and the charitable deduction tax scheme in the U.S. Topics include direct federal funding of charities.

The Po Leung Kuk (PLK) was a rescue institution in Hong Kong, founded by local Chinese middle and upper class men, devoted to providing shelter for destitute women and children. By producing categories of disempowered and dangerous women, the PLK actually functioned as an institutional tool for the colonial state in dealing with the contradictions between emancipation and morality. The first part of this article examines how the PLK incorporated both Chinese and western forms of charity, each of which sought to confine and reform women who deviated from social norms. The second part of this article reconsiders the nature of charity by examining the operations of the PLK. The expansion of the PLK's functions from protection of the destitute to classifying women in society reflects an early twentieth-century shift in the discourse of sexuality from a taboo topic contained within marriage to a social problem tied to public hygiene and public order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the tax exempt status of U.S. charities under U.S. internal revenue law. Topics include the impact of globalism and public policy on charitable organizations, the amendment of the public policy doctrine, and the uniform treatment of charitable organizations with international operations.

Edward Cooper was a disabled pauper who died of starvation in a workhouse ‘idiot’ ward. His neglect was the result of systemic problems, exacerbated by policy, and the poor law's free market approach to employing doctors in this period. In the 1870s community care came under assault from a policy that is known to historians as the ‘crusade against outdoor relief’. Though it sought to target ‘idlers’ and ‘undeserving’ cases, the withdrawal of vital payments for familial carers drove up the number of institutionalised and vulnerable patients. In turn, workhouse medical officers and nurses were unprepared for disabled patients, such as Edward, and charges of negligence increased. This article will provide a rare and detailed comparison between Victorian workhouse care and care in the community, drawn from extant contemporary affidavits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior to 1893, the Ontario government did not accept direct responsibility for the care of neglected and dependent infants. However, charitable infants’ homes received government grants for the infants and for their nursing mothers, and from 1874 were inspected annually or twice annually. Most of these infants were illegitimate, most of their mothers were poor, and many were in poor physical condition, and thus their chances of survival outside such homes was poor. The success of these homes and the effectiveness of government inspection can thus be judged in part by the mortality rate among the infants admitted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses the social work and services provided by the Franciscan order located in the village of Sepúlveda, Spain, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The author comments on the pious works by the Franciscan monks directed towards orphans and prisoners in the region. He also considers ecclesiastical as well as secular laws and legislation related to these social services, with a particular focus on charitable donations. The financial crisis faced by the region during this time period is also considered.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth) commenced on 3 December 2012, delivering Australia a federal regulator for not-for-profits, the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission (ACNC). The ACNC is expected to effect a fundamental change' from the current system where the Australian Taxation Office, as the 'default Commonwealth regulator', has been 'unable to take action commensurate to the circumstances being addressed'. However, the ACNC's achievement of its regulatory goals, especially by means of proportional enforcement action, may be stunted by regulatory overlap with the Commissioner of Taxation. This overlap is primarily engendered by additional tax endorsement requirements for charities to access tax concessions, such as income tax exemption. In particular, the extension of endorsement special conditions under the Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Act 2013 (Cth) raises the possibility that charities may face fierce extremes' between milder, more nuanced, ACNC compliance action and revocation of income tax endorsement by the Commissioner of Taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under UK charity law, organisations seeking charitable status must demonstrate, inter alia, that they will pursue a purpose the state deems 'charitable'. Such purposes inevitably reflect conceptions of the good, thus it is argued here that the state, in granting charitable status, affirms the value of ideas about the good; it indicates that a set of conceptions of the good are worthy of special advantages that are not provided for the pursuit of other conceptions. The designation of charitable status appears to be at odds with liberal neutrality, which argues that the state should not pursue, promote or pass judgement on particular conceptions of the good. In short, there is a prima facie tension between the general liberal neutrality doctrine and charity law. Yet liberal neutralists have not addressed this policy area. This article surveys the grounds for reconciliation between some conceptions of liberal neutrality and the present charity law. 'Neutrality of effect' addresses some concerns but its implications for charity law are not in accord with the general practice and principles regarding charities. Barry's process of abstraction is argued to be untenable as a policy option for charities. The article concludes that in so far as one is neutralist, 'neutrality of justification' in the form of neutral goods provides the most plausible account of charity law. However, such an account entails alterations to the existing legislation that one may view as a failure to account for well-established, legitimate principles and traditions in charity law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the charitable donation of paintings by painter Georgia O' Keeffe to the Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and also discusses the Cy-Press Doctrine. It informs that the doctrine has originated in the law of charitable trusts but has been applied in the context of lawsuits settlement in the U.S. It further states that the university has decided to sell two of the paintings in order to solve its problem of insolvency. It further states that after six years of litigation and two appeals, a chancery court has granted the permission to the university to sell fifty percent of the exhibition to the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas.

With the historic 2006 Charities Act (C.50), charities registered in England and Wales are for the first time permitted to adopt charitable objectives that promote the ‘advancement of human rights’. Drawing on empirical data from a recent study, this article not only tracks this contemporary legal development, but also examines why a particular charity – identified by its firm rejection of ‘right-based approaches’ – chose to be among the first 20 charities to adopt the new objective. The analysis reveals how charities are strategically (re-)framing current campaign practice through a formal discourse of rights, for the purpose of advancing further politicised forms of activism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the disestablishment of the New Zealand Charities Commission as of July 1, 2012. Topics include charity regulation in New Zealand, the Commission's interpretation of charity-related case law, and the presumption of charitability. Information is provided on the public benefit test and legal protection for charities.

The article discusses immigrants and noncitizens in the U.S. and their access to food from private charities as of September 2012, including an assessment of the nation's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and its exclusion of benefits for non-U.S. citizens. It states that several private charities have expressed fears about being held criminally liable if they fail to verify the immigration status of the people they serve.

The article presents information on the role of the Charity Commission of Great Britain in Wales and England with respect to the powers granted to the commission under the Charities Act 2011 of Great Britain. The Charities Act aids the Commission in the decision making regarding the charitable status of the entities. Information on the justice administration and the judicial power of the Commission under the Act on charity law is also presented.

The article presents information on the misconceptions regarding the charity law in Singapore with respect to the enactment of the Charities Act by the legal system of the country. The misconceptions include the legal structure of the charities and the relationship between the Institutions of the Public Character and the charitable institutions. Information on the legal regimes and the government regulations regarding the charities in the country is also presented.

This article examines how state institutions shape the meaning of charity in Canada. It concludes that the courts have made limited changes to the meaning of charity and that the Department of Finance has resisted redefining charity. In contrast, the Canada Revenue Agency's Charities Directorate has worked to update the meaning of charity, but it does not have the power to amend the tax laws so its changes have been primarily administrative. While these administrative changes may not overcome the central public policy issue related to a narrow interpretation of the meaning of charity, they could shape future definitions depending on the voluntary sector's ability to mobilize around this issue and the receptiveness of the federal government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deciding the means, levels, and targets of taxation and spending across third-sector organizations, governments seeking to increase social welfare should use fiscal concepts and indicators that can detect and grade the welfare consequences of their decisions. On these terms, charity, as its meaning has originated and evolved in common law, is a deficient fiscal concept: it is neither teleological nor gradational, and therefore can offer no guidance on how to design and differentiate the fiscal treatment of third-sector organizations in ways that could increase social welfare. In general, the national governments of Australia, Canada, England and Wales, India, and Singapore treat uniformly the third-sector organizations whose purposes comply with the legal meaning of charity. In order to reform and differentiate that treatment with the prospect of increasing social welfare thereby, governments should start by dispensing with charity as a fiscal concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the laws regarding charitable public benefits in Hong Kong, China as of May 2012, focusing on the country's enactment of a Charities Ordinance and its impact on the governing power of Great Britain's UK Charities Act 2006 within Hong Kong's borders. The court's determination of four headings for charitable purposes is examined in light of Lord MacNaughten's ruling in the 1891 case Special Commissioners of Income Tax v. Pemsel.

The article discusses Irish workhouses, the political philosophy justifying them, the laws establishing them, and their construction between 1836 and 1845. Based on the Poor Laws of England and Wales of 1834, the Irish system sought to follow the utilitarian principles of British philosopher Jeremy Bentham embraced by the English Poor Law Commissioners. Some topics considered include Irish Poor Law Commissioner George Nicholls, political instability during the period, public opinions regarding workhouses and the poor, and the Irish famine of 1845.

The article reflects on the tax concession provisions provided by the Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) which is a non profit organisation for poor people. It discusses the deductible gift category of PBI which helps donor to receive tax deductions. It also discusses the impact of charity and tax deduction on revenue and suggests that PBI should impose restrictions on indirect activities.

The article presents information on the public disclosure of the regulatory filings in the U.S. and the determinations with respect to the charity governance. The state regulations regarding the fundraising by charities with emphasis to their constitutional limits and the regulatory filing on the federal tax are discussed. Information on the privacy interests and the disclosure of the enforcement activity at state and the federal level is also presented.

This article summarizes how the Office of the Surgeon General can leverage faith-based resources to fulfill its mission and that of the Surgeon General of the United States. Such resources, personal and institutional, have been utilized historically in health promotion and disease prevention efforts and are a valuable ally for public health, an alliance that continues under the Obama Administration. This paper outlines the history and mission of the Office; details the recent history of federal faith-based initiatives; and advocates an expanded alliance between the faith-based and public health sectors sensitive to legal and professional boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Öffentliche und Gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen (ZÖgU) / Journal for Public & Nonprofit Services is the property of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This Article critiques the prevailing justification for subsidies for the charitable sector and suggests a new alternative. Existing rationales are based on an economic model that assumes a single government whose decisions are guided by a single median voter. I argue that this theory is unpersuasive when translated to federal systems, such as the United States, in which there may instead be thousands of competing local governments. I then attempt to construct a theory of the charitable sector that takes account of interactions between charity, local government, and national government. In this revised account, charity is most important when federalism mechanisms break down. For example, frictions on exit produce too little jurisdictional competition, and excessively easy exit produces too much competition-a race to the bottom. In both these cases, the quality of the resulting government services is predictably low, so that charity can be expected to out- perform rival governments. Even if not, the threat of the charitable alternative may supply competition that is otherwise missing from the market for government services. These conclusions also have implications for the law of charitable organizations, as I detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on intersection of modern equality law and charity law with exemptions from anti-discrimination law that charities under the Equality Act 2010 of Great Britain. Topics discussed include beneficiary discrimination, volunteer discrimination and trustee discrimination in charities, public sector equality duty put pressure on charities and commitment to equal treatment and non-discrimination as a principles of the European Union (EU).

The article discusses concerns related to deductions in taxes for charitable contributions in the U.S. It informs that the U.S. taxpayers are allowed under the present tax regime to deduct contributions to domestic charities, but not to the foreign charities outside the U.S. and not to for-profit charities. It examines the tax system as a vehicle for different tax activities.

The Commonwealth government proposes to enact a statutory definition of religious charity. Whether religious groups should prove that they provide public benefit in return for charitable status is contentious and the current law is confused. Moreover , overseas reforms diverge on this issue. Identifying an appropriate model for determining public benefit is important because charity law is a significant means of state control over religion. This article proposes three criteria -- evidence, human rights and cost -- by which to judge a public benefit charity test, and identifies three models that could be adopted. The model that is most consistent with the proposed criteria broadly accords with the current common law position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the naming rights related to elimination of tax deduction for the naming portion of a transfer to charity. It mentions a general rule according to which a donor can not claim a charitable deduction to the extent the donor receives a return benefit. It further reflects on the beneficial effects of correcting the tax treatment for charitable naming arrangements.

The article focuses on how private institutions can contribute to philanthropy efforts effectively and how they have created a 'fourth sector' under taxation law. It is noted that the three main sectors were previously defined as: business, government, and nonprofit organizations. The author examines the effectiveness of private philanthropy organizations and compares them to nonprofits.

This article analyses the decision of the High Court in Aid/Watch Inc v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, in which a majority of the Court ruled that an organisation was not necessarily excluded from charitable status because it had a main or dominant political purpose. The article reflects upon the benefits of the decision, especially its infusion of public law principles into charity law, before discussing the uncertainties generated by the decision. It is argued that, ultimately, the decision exposes a hole in the heart of charity law - the absence of a coherent conception of charity. The article concludes with suggestions as to what a coherent conception of charity might look like, and how it might help solve perennial puzzles in charity law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External assurances on published accounts are central to the accountability of charities in the UK. Larger charities (generally those with over £500,000 income) are required to have a professional audit, while smaller charities are allowed an independent examination. An assessment of this regime is offered, drawing on direct analysis of the regulatory framework and investigating the independent examiner as a new form of professional practitioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the legal challenges to international philanthropy and the possible options to address such barriers. Legal barriers include substantial limitations on foreign grantmaking by tax-exempt entities, post-receipt procedural burdens like burdensome notification and reporting requirements, and prohibition on the types of activities which can be supported with foreign funding. The Council of Foundations and the Global Philanthropy Leadership Initiative Task Force (GLPI) have established illustrative solutions to the legal barriers such as developing tools to help foundations direct the legal environment for cross-border philanthropy, instituting principles for cross-border philanthropy, and programs concerning to disaster relief and the Millennium Development Goals.

The article examines the aspect of the advancement of religion in the law of charities in Great Britain. It cites the cases of the application of the Gnostic Centre and the Druid Foundation in the country's Charity Commission, which explores the Commission's approach in the advancement of religion. It also explores the commission's approach to public benefit of the law of charities under the Charities Act 2006.

The article focuses on the New Zealand court case Canterbury Development Corporation v. Charities Commission, which dealt with income tax exemptions for charitable organizations. Topics include the economic implications of tax exemptions for charities, the classification of organizations as charities, and the registration of economic development entities.

The article focuses on Freemasonry in New Zealand and how the fraternal organization influences law in the country. Topics include the requirements of obtaining charitable status for an organization, the public benefit requirement, and the codification of charity law in New Zealand. Information is provided on charitable purposes.

Copyright of Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the essentials of charity law which proposes charities to pursue benefits for someone other than their own leaders and must revise and supplement the law that authorizes group governance. It reviews the distinction of charities and business distinguished by current charity law. It offers innovations that mingle with the charity and business which challenges the current law.

The article discusses the English old poor law (OPL), instituted during the reign of British Queen Elizabeth I and continuing through the 1830s. It explores the historiography of studies of OPL, as well as considering changes in standards of living, the relationship between life expectancy and mortality rates during the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries, and changes in real wages between the late medieval and early modern periods. Other subjects considered include British public health policies and public charities, the social impact of the plague, and how the OPL and poor relief benefited women.

The article examines the federal tax law that governed charities in the 21st century in the U.S. It outlines the historical development of the federal tax income law relating charities in the 21st century and the reform in the regulatory framework in public and private charities. It concludes that a clearer idea of the type of organization that should be supported by the tax system must be developed for scandals not to be repeated and for the public benefit of charities.

Copyright of Revista de Historía da Sociedade e da Cultura is the property of Revista de Historia da Sociedade e da Cultura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)