November 2007 No. 49Table of Contents |
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The 2008 Indiana General Assembly officially started November 20 at its organization day, and reform of the state’s property tax system is priority #1. The Democratic-controlled House will consider Governor Daniels’ plan as one multi-faceted bill. A 10-bill package will work its way through the Republican-controlled Senate. Atypically, committees in both chambers will start review and debate on these bills in December. The 2008 session resumes on January 7, and work must be finished by March 14.
Lawmakers’ urgency over tax reform is amplified by the Indiana Tax Court’s dismissal of a class-action lawsuit brought by 10 groups and several individuals, headed by once-gubernatorial and -senatorial candidate John Price. They contend that Indiana’s property tax system is “unconstitutional.”
The 5-member bipartisan Tax and Financing Policy Commission unanimously approved recommendations to cut property tax bills beginning in 2008 in exchange for local option income tax (LOIT) increases. It also proposed raising the state sales tax in order to cover the $771 Million needed to transfer local child welfare costs into the state budget.
Governor Daniels said the group’s plan “closely parallels” his own and envisions Hoosier homeowners seeing immediate tax relief and long-term taxpayer protection once the 2008 legislative session is finished.
There also will likely be debates among city, township, county, and state government officials about their respective roles in the tax reform process. Indianapolis Mayor Peterson’s defeat for re-election was in part due to fallout from his push to replace property tax revenues—that were expected to increase but instead were frozen—with a LOIT increase. Township assessors won’t likely lose their jobs without a fight. And business and farm groups have yet to sign on to the higher property tax rates in the Governor’s plan. Here’s a comparison of the Daniels and Commission plans:
| 2008 Proposal | Governor | Commission |
| Property tax rates |
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| Sales tax |
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| LOIT |
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| School operations |
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| School busing |
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| School building projects |
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| State constitution |
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| Property Assessors |
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See Capitol Steps 46 for more details on Daniels’ plan. We will report on 2008 bills’ status at key deadlines.
Associations. You name it, and there’s a group of people that gets together to talk about it, improve it, save it, sell it, and just about anythingelse it. Technically, they’re called associations. IaUW is one, and they abound in the nonprofit world of which they are a small part. In Indiana, there are 2,439 of them—their members are individuals or other organizations. Nearly 25,000 Hoosiers work in them—some 9% more than a decade ago—with a half-billion dollars in payroll, though that is only ½% of total Indiana wages. Across the USA, association salaries grew 67% on average since 1997 compared to only 18% in Indiana.
More than half (58.5%) have members that are civic and social groups; another 19% are labor unions; 7.3% represent social advocacy organizations, 8% businesses; 1.6% are individuals who are professionals in these enterprises; and ½% are political entities. To learn more about associations in Indiana and the USA, see Associations Matter at www.asaecenter.org/
Foundations. Over the past 5 years, 60% of non-corporate foundations that support their own charitable activities have increased the amount of dollars they put into them. They fund conferences and technical assistance or training for grantees and underwrite the services of their staff on advisory boards for other charities or public commissions, according to a new report from the Foundation Center. For example, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a health summit, the Annie E. Casey Foundation runs a program providing services to vulnerable children, and the Marin Community Foundation operates a resource center to improve philanthropic activities; 75% think this kind of foundation activity is becoming more widespread. For details, see www.foundationcenter.org.
Wealth. The Bill & Melinda Gates Fdn. is trying to get beyond the usual studies of wealthy donors—“they give to make the world better, they want results, it’s part of their legacy to their kids”—by having Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy find out how wealth affects families, just as studies have led to insights about poverty’s impact on people. Stay tuned.
Doing good. Two studies give evidence that companies that cultivate philanthropy tend to be more profitable themselves. Dover Management’s mutual fund invests in firms with strong corporate giving programs. It found such businesses had outperformed Standard & Poor’s 500 index by 3.5% over the past 5 years. This finding echoed last year’s study which concluded that “corporate charitable contributions are effective in enhancing revenues in the consumer sectors [retailers and financial services].”
Philanthropy 400. By reporting together all fund-raising results of the 1,300+ United Ways across the USA in a $4.1 Billion total, United Way of America sat atop the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2007 list of the largest American charities. The American Red Cross was #2 in fund raising but first in total revenue of nearly $5.9 Billion, with fees and government support. Though the 2006 list’s total fund-raising amount grew only 4.3% from 2005, it almost doubled that of 1997.
Of this elite group, 34% are mostly in higher education; 14% in health (with medical centers/hospitals); 13% international; 9% social services (including United Ways); 7% community fdns; and 7% arts.
Half (56%) have endowments, with a mid-point size of $348 Million. One-fifth ran capital campaigns last year, and one-fourth planned to in 2007; 22% offer donor-advised funds. Some 11% get more than half of their donations in noncash gifts; of this group, 40% get nearly all (90+%) of their gifts this way.
Independent Sector. At its October gathering, the focus was on how the nonprofit world can better help minorities and people in poverty. UWA’s Brian Gallagher said the problem of poverty “has gotten so big that if it sustains, it’s going to threaten civil society, including civil unrest.” For summaries of speakers and sessions, see www.independentsector.org.
Wealth transfer bonanza? Don’t count on it, speakers told 1,150 at the National Committee on Planned Giving’s annual conclave. Researchers had predicted that as much as $6 Trillion could flow into charities from Baby Boomer bequests. It won’t happen without working to make it happen, delegates were told. Big gifts from estates of World War II Americans and their children will only come with planning and effort!
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