Social welfare groups have become more common – and more controversial – in recent years. Fixing gaps in the oversight of this kind of nonprofit will take bipartisan action.
President Trump claims that churches suffer from the over-regulation of their political speech. In reality, oversight is lax for religious groups and secular tax-exempt nonprofits alike.
The administration’s plan to significantly cut the tax rate on so-called pass-through entities will likely lead to creative tax planning and outright evasion, damaging faith in the system.
As these tax-exempt vehicles transform philanthropy, they’re drawing more scrutiny. Will Congress or the Trump administration tinker with the rules that encouraged their rapid growth?
President Trump recently repeated his pledge to eliminate the 63-year-old law, which bans charities from engaging in political activities, at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Given Trump’s substantial conflicts of interest, the foundation’s admission of self-dealing should sound a warning to both the president-elect and voters as he takes the oath of office.
Research suggests some features of tax software can lead us to make more aggressive judgments when we file our returns, which could make an audit more likely.
Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
Federal networks need stronger cybersecurity measures than most organizations, but have not yet gotten the budget or staffing commitments that would protect them properly.