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Of Sovereignty And Subsidy: Conceptualizing The Charity Tax Exemption, Evelyn Brody Mar 1998

Of Sovereignty And Subsidy: Conceptualizing The Charity Tax Exemption, Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

This piece explores the broad financial relationship between the public and the charitable sectors. Tax exemption operates as a peculiar subsidy - offering the greatest benefits to charities carrying on the most profitable activities and owning the most valuable property. Perhaps, then, the property tax and income tax exemption of charities can be explained by a 'sovereign' view of the charitable sector. Resembling the federal tax treatment of state and local governments, exemption for charities respects the independence of the nonprofit sector, and minimizes the involvement of charities in the political process. Unfortunately, the long history of Anglo American philanthropy …


Of Sovereignty And Subsidy: Conceptualizing The Charity Tax Exemption (Symposium), Evelyn Brody Mar 1998

Of Sovereignty And Subsidy: Conceptualizing The Charity Tax Exemption (Symposium), Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

No abstract provided.


The Limits Of Charity Fiduciary Law, Evelyn Brody Mar 1998

The Limits Of Charity Fiduciary Law, Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

Trustees of charitable trusts and directors of nonprofit corporations operate under legal regimes designed for their for-profit cousins. In the absence of private beneficiaries or shareholders to look after their own interests, however, charity fiduciaries frequently escape accountability for their self-dealing and neglect or mismanagement. Few charities have members endowed with voting rights, and state attorneys general have limited resources to devote to monitoring the nonprofit sector. Similarly, at the federal level, the Internal Revenue Service is a tax collector, not a policing agency (although its new powers to tax excess benefits will undoubtedly draw it further into charity operations). …


Hocking The Halo: Implications Of The Charities' Winning Briefs In Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc., Evelyn Brody Mar 1998

Hocking The Halo: Implications Of The Charities' Winning Briefs In Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc., Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

In Camps Newfound/Owatonna, the petitioner charity – with important assistance from friends-of-the-court charities – persuaded the Supreme Court to overturn a Maine statute that granted property tax exemption only to those charities primarily serving state residents. Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison, 117 S. Ct. 1590 (1997). Given this statute's facial discrimination, why was victory a 5-4 squeaker? The charities naturally reasoned that coming within the Commerce Clause requires proving that charities engage in commerce (particularly interstate commerce). In their focus on the financial impact of the discriminatory statute, however, the charities never offered a positive construct of property-tax …


Introduction To Nonprofit Symposium Issue, Evelyn Brody Mar 1998

Introduction To Nonprofit Symposium Issue, Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

No abstract provided.