scholarly journals Nonprofit Practitioners Chat Back: An Exploratory Content Analysis of Participant Responses to the National Council of Nonprofit’s Webinar on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rikki Abzug
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Council ◽  
Individual Mandate ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
Tax Cuts

AbstractAs the first major overhaul of the United States’ tax code in a generation, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has particular significance for the operation of US nonprofit organizations. Provisions of the Tax Act, including raising the ceiling on individual standard deductions, imposing excise taxes on highly compensated nonprofit employees, repealing the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, etc., are causing great uncertainty and consternation within organizations of, and bridging, the nonprofit sector. In response to some of the initial confusion, the National Council of Nonprofits offered a webinar, entitled, “Now What: How the New Federal Tax Law Impacts Charitable Nonprofits” on January 11, 2018. A one-hour slide-show with voice-overs was complemented by a running “chat” of nonprofit listeners/participants. This exploratory study undertakes a content analysis of the one-hour nonprofit participant chat that accompanied the webinar in order to take a pulse of the concerns of the practitioners as the potential impact of the law was explicated.

scholarly journals Is This Tax Reform, or Just Confusion?

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Slemrod
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Tax Base ◽  
Tax System ◽  
The Law ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
Tax Cuts

Based on the experience of recent decades, the United States apparently musters the political will to change its tax system comprehensively about every 30 years, so it seems especially important to get it right when the chance arises. Based on the strong public statements of economists opposing and supporting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, a causal observer might wonder whether this law was tax reform or mere confusion. In this paper, I address that question and, more importantly, offer an assessment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law is clearly not “tax reform” as economists usually use that term: that is, it does not seek to broaden the tax base and reduce marginal rates in a roughly revenue-neutral manner. However, the law is not just a muddle. It seeks to address some widely acknowledged issues with corporate taxation, and takes some steps toward broadening the tax base, in part by reducing the incentive to itemize deductions.

scholarly journals The Impact of Audit Committees on US Nonprofit Organizations’ Governance

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Husam Abu-Khadra
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Impact

All public companies in the United States are required by the securities and exchange commission (SEC) to have an audit committee. Such enforcement can be attributed to high-profile corporate failures and their connections to nonexistence, ineffective or weak audit committees and governance. Despite the efforts to establish a similar argument and enforcement structure for the nonprofit sector, the internal revenue service (IRS) has not pursued legislation, and no empirical evidence has been established to support any public policy changes. This paper contributes to the literature in this field by being the first study to examine 124,980 nonprofit organizations during the period of 2010 to 2015 to test the association between governance in nonprofit organizations and audit committees. We included fifteen measures from these organizations’ IRS Form 990 filings to formulate the study variables. We found significant evidence that the existence of audit committees improves the governance scores of nonprofit organizations. Our study findings have significant implications for nonprofit executives, policy makers and any other interested parties; these findings act as preliminary evidence to support more proactive policies regarding mandatory audit committees for nonprofit organizations. 

scholarly journals The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Middle Class

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (01) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Deborah Combs ◽  
Brian Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
The United States ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
United States Census ◽  
United States Census Bureau ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
Tax Cuts

This paper explores how the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 impacts middle-class taxpayers by calculating the tax liability at different levels of income and deductions in 2017 versus 2018. The results confirm the statements supporting the positive effect of the tax change for the middle class. The tax cut and jobs act eliminates personal exemptions, changes the standard deductions at various incomes and family sizes, and lowers marginal tax rates. After providing details of the act, this research examines the definition of the U.S. middle class by using prior research from the Pew Research Center, the United States Census Bureau, and the federal reserve to determine which income levels are attributable to the middle class. Then the tax liability for these income classes is calculated for single and married filing jointly taxpayers in both 2017 and 2018 to determine if the tax cuts and jobs act reduces the tax liability for the middle class. The results show that in almost all scenarios the tax liability in 2018 will be lower than in 2017, regardless of whether standard or itemized deductions are taken. The marriage penalty is no longer applicable, and the new tax act provides a substantial benefit to large families

scholarly journals Librarians Are Attracted to Blogs That Support Professional Continuing Education

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Laura Newton Miller
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
State University ◽  
Random Samples ◽  
The Social ◽  
Whole Number ◽  
Reader Comments ◽  
The Individual

Objective – The purpose of the study was to examine how librarian blogs are being used for communication within the profession. Design – The method used was content analysis and unstructured interviews. Setting - The researcher is based out of a state university in the United States of America. Subjects - Content of and communication within 12 librarian blogs were analyzed. Seven of the 12 bloggers were interviewed. Methodology – There were 15 blogs identified in a list by Quinn (2009) and reduced to the 12 best suited for the study. Over a 24-month period (January 2009-December 2010), random samples of posts with 2 or more comments were selected for each month from the 12 blogs and analyzed. All comments related to these selected posts were also analyzed. The researcher categorized the blogs overall, plus individual posts, into one of four predominant genres (social, professional development, political, and research). Content was coded based on previous coding methodology for blog content found in the research literature. Requests for interviews were sent to all 12 bloggers with 7 agreeing to be interviewed. Preliminary results of the content analysis for his/her own blog were shared with each blogger before the interview took place. Inter-coder reliability was pretested and found to be 83.33%. Main Results - Two hundred eighty-eight posts randomly chosen received 1936 reader comments. Bloggers responded to these comments 254 times. Blogs were categorized under the “social” genre most frequently (53%), followed by “professional development” (31%), “political” (14%), and “research” (2%; percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number by the reviewer). Professional development was the lead genre in two of the individual blogs. All seven bloggers interviewed stated that professional development is a large focus of their blogs. Reasons for blogging ranged from the importance of sharing information, contextualizing information, and (for some) satisfying personal ambition. There was a common personal enjoyment of writing and all planned to continue blogging despite increasing time constraints. Conclusion - Professional development is a major focus of content in librarian blogs. Blog posts and comments stay on topic throughout exchanges between bloggers and readers.

scholarly journals Moving Toward Neo-Totalitarianism: A Political-Sociological Analysis of the Evolution of Administrative Absorption of Society in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoguang Kang
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
State Capitalism ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Three Phases

AbstractChina recently promulgated and revised a number of laws, regulations and measures to regulate the nonprofit sector. All these administrative efforts increase support for Chinese nonprofit organizations (NPOs) on the one hand and put unprecedented pressure on them on the other. The seemingly contradictory effects are actually based on the same logic of Administrative Absorption of Society (AAS). This article proposes three phases in the development of AAS: an subconscious phase, a theory-modeling phase, and an institutionalization phase. The institutionalization of AAS has led to the rise of neo-totalitarianism, which is featured by state capitalism, unlimited government, and a mixed ideology of Marxism and Confucianism. Neo-totalitarianism further strengthens AAS and has begun to reshape the relationship between the state and the nonprofit sector. This article analyzes China’s nonprofit policymaking from a sociopolitical perspective, and clarifies the context, the characteristics, and the evolution of laws and policies in the nonprofit sector in macrocosm.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Study of Types of Innovation in US Foundations

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Jaskyte Bahr
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
External Environment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Administrative Innovations

While foundations contribute in significant ways to the United States’ social, economic, and political life, they are experiencing increasing demands placed upon them by their own sector and need to respond to the major changes in their external environment. In order to create breakthrough solutions to long-standing problems, foundations have to become more innovative and seek to experiment and find new approaches. Unfortunately, innovation discourse within foundations has received little attention. This paper fills the gap in the literature as it describes the results of a study that explored different types of innovations implemented in foundations. More specifically, staff members of 17 US foundations that are known for supporting innovation in nonprofit organizations, were asked to describe programmatic and administrative innovations implemented in their own foundations. The results showed that foundations that support innovation are in fact innovative themselves. They implemented numerous innovations in programmatic and administrative, financial, and structural areas. This paper provides a rich description of a broad range of innovations implemented within each of those areas. The contribution of this study and insights are significant at this particular time when foundations’ roles and impact on social change are questioned. The results can enrich our discussion of where foundations can go from here in terms of becoming innovative themselves in order to be able to support and enhance innovation in the nonprofit sector.

Profit Shifting before and after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1233-1266
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Clausing
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Profit Shifting ◽  
Tax Base ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Corporate Profits ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Tax Cuts

In recent years, profit shifting by multinational companies (MNCs) has generated substantial revenue costs to the U.S. government. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed U.S. international tax law in several important ways. This paper discusses the nature of these changes and their possible effects on profit shifting. The paper also evaluates the effects of the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) tax on the location of taxable profits. Once company adjustment to the legislation is complete, estimates suggest that the GILTI tax will reduce the corporate profits of U.S. multinational affiliates in haven countries by about 12-16 percent, modestly increasing the tax base in both the United States and in higher-tax foreign countries. However, a per-country minimum tax would generate much larger increases in the U.S. tax base; a per-country tax at the same rate reduces haven profits by 23-31 percent, resulting in larger gains in U.S. tax revenue.

scholarly journals Lobbying in the Virtual World: Perceptions in the Nonprofit Sector

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Miller-Stevens ◽  
Matthew J. Gable
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
National Council ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Lobbying Activity ◽  
Technological Barriers ◽  
Grassroots Lobbying ◽  
Nonprofit Associations

AbstractElectronic lobbying efforts have become an essential, yet profoundly underutilized strategy of nonprofit organizations to advance the representation of the underserved in policymaking. Through a survey and interviews of leaders and staff members in state nonprofit associations that are members of the National Council of Nonprofits, this study examines the use and perceived effectiveness of nonprofit electronic lobbying activities and the communication channels employed for this purpose, in addition to exploring social crises and technological barriers potentially limiting nonprofit adoption of these activities. The study concludes that state nonprofit associations actively utilize email as an electronic lobbying activity to reach policymakers, but the activity is rarely employed to disseminate information to the general public. Social media methods such as blogging and social networking sites are used less frequently, but they are often perceived as being highly effective as a grassroots lobbying activity.

scholarly journals The Truth about Honesty in the Nonprofit Sector

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. McDonald ◽  
Christopher B Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
The United States ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Benford’S Law ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
External Monitoring ◽  
Benford's Law ◽  
Program Costs

The nonprofit sector aims to provide services with a public benefit, but how honest is it? Since the nonprofit sector relies on fundraising efforts to support its administration and program costs, and since poor financial performance can scare potential contributors away, nonprofit organizations have an incentive to appear fiscally healthy regardless of their true condition. We examine the factors associated with the honesty of organizations in the nonprofit sector using Benford’s Law, which tests for abnormalities in data that result from intentional falsification. Using the 990 tax filings for 51,010 nonprofits in the United States from 2012 and 2013, we find evidence of problems in the accuracy of their financial reporting. Those organizations with more external users of their financial information tend to conform more closely with Benford’s Law, suggesting more external monitoring of non-profit organizations may decrease the likelihood of misreported financial information.

scholarly journals The Reach of the “Don’t Fry Day” Twitter Campaign: Content Analysis

10.2196/14137 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e14137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nguyen ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
Lianne Priede ◽  
Carolyn Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Skin Cancer Prevention ◽  
National Council ◽  
Original Material ◽  
Self Interest

Background Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, disproportionately affecting young women. Since many young adults use Twitter, it may be an effective channel to communicate skin cancer prevention information. Objective The study aimed to assess the reach of the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention (NCSCP)’s 2018 Don’t Fry Day Twitter campaign, categorize the types of individuals or tweeters who engaged in the campaign, and identify themes of the tweets. Methods Descriptive statistics were used, and a content analysis of Twitter activity during the 2018 Don’t Fry Day campaign was conducted. The NCSCP tweeted about Don’t Fry Day and skin cancer prevention for 14 days in May 2018. Twitter contributors were categorized into groups. The number of impressions (potential views) and retweets were recorded. Content analysis was used to describe the text of the tweets. Results A total of 1881 Twitter accounts, largely health professionals, used the Don’t Fry Day hashtag, generating over 45 million impressions. These accounts were grouped into nine categories (eg, news or media and public figures). The qualitative content analysis revealed informative, minimally informative, and self-interest campaign promotion themes. Informative tweets involved individuals and organizations who would mention and give further context and information about the #DontFryDay campaign. Subthemes of the informative theme were sun safety, contextual, and epidemiologic information. Minimally informative tweets used the hashtag (#DontFryDay) and other types of hashtags but did not give any further context or original material in the tweets. Self-interest campaign promotion involved businesses, firms, and medical practices that would utilize and promote the campaign to boost their own ventures. Conclusions These analyses demonstrate the large potential reach of social media public health campaigns. However, limitations of such campaigns were also identified, for example, the relatively homogeneous groups actively engaged in the campaign. This study contributes to the understanding of the types of accounts and messages engaged in social media campaigns utilizing a hashtag, providing insight into the messages and participants that are effective and those that are not to achieve campaign goals. Further research on the potential impact of social media on health behaviors and outcomes is necessary to ensure wide-reaching implications.

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