Sunday, November 18, 2007
Mirkay on The Nondiscrimination Principle in § 501(c)(3)
Nicholas A. Mirkay (Widener) has published Is It "Charitable" to Discriminate? The Necessary Transformation of Section 501(c)(3) Into the Gold Standard for Charities, 2007 Wis. L. Rev. 45. Here is part of the Conclusion:
A charitable organization should not continue to enjoy the benefits of tax-exempt status if it engages in discrimination, because it is intrinsically incompatible with a charitable purpose and mission. In filling the current void in federal income-tax law with respect to such discrimination, the nondiscrimination-requirement proposal seeks to transform section 501(c)(3) into the “gold standard” for all tax-exempt organizations, by ensuring that their beneficiaries are as diverse as the taxpaying public from which they draw their support. ...
In a message to Congress calling for the enactment of Title VI, President John F. Kennedy stated that “[s]imple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes, or results in racial discrimination.” The inclusion of an expansive nondiscrimination requirement in section 501(c)(3) is a necessary step in effectuating this vision.
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/11/mirkay-on-the-n.html