Duncan para subconjuntos

There have been recent efforts to extend charity status to news organizations. The Charities Act 2013 sought to introduce a statutory definition of charity to resolve some of the inherent uncertainties of the then prevailing common law approach in determining the legal meaning of charity. The objective of the statutory definition was to provide greater clarity and certainty without constraining the use of common law to extend charitable status to other beneficial purposes relevant to contemporary Australia.

The Charities Act was preceded by more than a decade of extensive public debate and proposals for reform. In 2001, the commissioning of an Inquiry into the “Definition of Charities and Related organizations by the Australian Government” was a major step towards the eventual reform into charity status to news organizations. Its recommendation for a modern statutory definition of charity was put aside by the then government which opted instead for a much more limited intervention to remove legal doubt over the charitable status of childcare; self-help bodies; and closed/contemplative religious orders.

26 _{http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-13/new-daily-launches/5087940.} 27 _{Independent Australia website: independentaustralia.net.}

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The predominant responsibility for administering the definition of charity under the new arrangements passed from taxation authorities to the ACNC, which was established a year earlier. According to the ACNC Commissioner,28 _{the Charities} Act added “reconciliation, human rights, culture, the environment and more to the list of purposes that are considered charitable, … recognised that many modern organizations advance causes through education, research and awareness-raising and prevention ... (and opened) the door to charity status for organizations that do good in new ways – ways that have evolved due to the dramatic changes in our world, our communities and our technologies.”

Tax treatment of the not-for-profit sector was also under scrutiny as part of the public debate on wider reform. In March 2009, the Australian Government commissioned a research study by the Productivity Commission on the not-for- profit sector’s contribution to society including, inter alia, an examination of “the extent to which tax deductibility influences both decisions to donate and the overall pool of philanthropic funds”.29 _{The report concluded that “gift} deductibility should be widened to include all tax endorsed charities in the interests of equity and simplicity” and recommended progressive widening of “the scope for gift deductibility to include all endorsed charitable institutions and charitable funds”. According to the Commission, incremental implementation would have enabled the Government to consider the consequential impact of the tax revenue particularly with regard to the deductibility of donations to religious and educational organizations.

In February 2012, the Commonwealth Assistant Treasurer, the Hon. Mark Arbib, established The Not-for-Profit Sector Tax Concession Working Group, to “consider whether there are better ways of delivering the current envelope of support provided through tax concessions to the NFP sector by the Australian Government” as recommended by the Productivity Commission.”30 _{The group} reviewed the full range of tax concessions including DGR status and, consistent with the Productivity Commission’s proposal, recommended that:

DGR status should be extended to all charities that are registered with the ACNC, but use of tax deductible donations should be restricted to purposes and activities that are not solely for the advancement of religion, or the advancement of education through child care and primary and secondary education, except where the activity is sufficiently related to advancing another charitable purpose.31

28 _{S. Pascoe, Charities Act to take effect from 1 Jan 2014, ACNC media release No.061, 16}

December, http://www.acnc.gov.au/ACNC/Comms/Med_R/MR_061.aspx.

29 _{Productivity Commission (2010), Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector, Research Report,}

Canberra.

30 _{Not-for-Profit Sector Tax Concession Working Group, Fairer, simpler and more effective tax}

concessions for the not‑for‑profit sector, Final Report, May 2013, The Australian Government, the Treasury, Canberra.

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The group’s recommendation was not adopted by the then Labor Government and there is little interest in the current Conservative Government to implement such a proposal. Nonetheless, the DGR arrangements may feature in a foreshadowed comprehensive review of the tax system.

Meanwhile, the Public Interest Journalism Foundation has been conducting an ongoing campaign for tax deductibility of philanthropic donations to not-for- profit news organizations and public interest journalism. Its underlying argument has been that investigative and quality journalism provides a public benefit no less worthy of support as other endeavors such as community broadcasting, the arts, libraries and museums. In a 2011 open letter to the Government and political parties, the foundation appealed for the introduction of tax deductibility for not-for-profit media organizations or for journalistic investigations. That same year, it also presented a submission arguing for such measures to the Independent Inquiry into the Media and Media Regulation (IIMMR) established later in 2011 (Finkelstein Inquiry) to report on the effectiveness of media codes of practice in Australia, and the impact of technological change on traditional media business models. Several other submissions to the Inquiry, including that of the Greens (political party), and a number of journalism Academics supported similar measures.

Noting the experience in the USA, the Inquiry acknowledged that the government could play a role in providing incentives for philanthropic investment in news production. However, it concluded that: “at this stage there is not a case for government support.” Nevertheless, as the situation was changing rapidly, the Inquiry saw a need for careful monitoring of developments. In the event assistance was warranted, the Inquiry suggested that the Government could consider making “donations towards non-profit or low-profit journalism organizations tax–deductible or exempt” and possibly set up a fund to subsidize investigative and public interest journalism.32

To date, there has been no indication of willingness by policy makers or relevant authorities to seriously consider, let alone adopt, changes to existing arrangements.