President's message:

Nonprofit sector dodges
some bullets, for now

The regular Legislative session is behind us. No new taxes were levied on nonprofits, nor was our general excise tax exemption lifted, I'm happy to say. We were spared, due in part to input and pressure from HANO and other sector advocates. While we dodged this bullet this session, we must continue to impart to public officials the critcal value of nonprofit services and the importance of a constructive and collaborative partnership between government and the nonprofit sector.

We will pass along soon what colleagues working in specific areas such as health and human services, arts and culture, environmental, agriculture, energy and  education say their legislative outcomes were this year. Stay tuned.

Honolulu City and County heard Bill 32 last week, which proposed a hike in the annual fee paid by nonprofits that own real property from $100 to $300. Nonprofits told HANO this is a bitter, but relatively small pill to swallow, compared to a complete repeal of the property tax exemption. HANO testified against the fee increase – not so much the amount, but what it represents. 

With the State deciding to leave the counties their share of the Transient Accommodations Tax, we hope the counties can balance their budgets without further threats to the nonprofit property tax exemption, but we’ll continue to monitor these measures.

Nationally, measures to regulate charitable giving and financial literacy advisors have surfaced and a possible expansion of the Federal Trade Commission’s jurisdiction could mean increased regulation of nonprofits. A vote on IRA charitable rollovers could come sometime in May and there is a move to resurrect the Estate Tax, which sunsetted last year but raised $27 billion in 2009 – perhaps in significantly watered-down form.

The website of the National Council of Nonprofits, HANO’s national organization, has more details on federal and state initiatives. NCN played a large role in ensuring nonprofits could benefit from healthcare reform provisions and has expertly represented nonprofits on the Hill and at the White House.

Congress recently enacted two tax incentives that apply to nonprofits, one to reward hiring of new staff and another to help smaller organizations pay for health insurance. For this and other news, read this month’s newsletter. Hope you find it useful.

Mahalo,

Lisa Maruyama
HANO President & CEO