Boosting Cross-Border Philanthropy in Europe: Towards a Tax-Effective Environment

This publication, a joint effort of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) and Transnational Giving Europe (TGE), offers recommendations and ideas which could potentially ease tax-effective cross-border philanthropy in Europe. Tax experts from across Europe contributed to this publication.Cross-border philanthropy in Europe is growing. Philanthropic organisations are both investing more across national boundaries as part of their asset management strategy, and individual and corporate donors are increasing their philanthropic giving outside of their home countries.But the fiscal environment for cross-border philanthropy, even within the European Union, is still far from satisfactory. Although the EU's non-discrimination principle, which applies to philanthropy, some legislators and authorities still discriminate against comparable foreign EU-based philanthropic players. And processes to gain equal treatment - where they are indeed available - are burdensome, lengthy and costly.This paper aims to highlight good and bad existing practice and to develop recommendations and ideas which could potentially lead to a simplification of the procedures for implementation of the non-discrimination principle. This is therefore not an academic paper but rather a practitioner-driven view on the matter, which will need to be further developed and discussed with fiscal experts and policymakers in the field of philanthropy taxation. The paper is hence a recommended read for legislators and authorities, as well as for philanthropists and the wider non-profit sector.The analysis and recommendations contained in this publication follow on from a study released in 2014 bythe EFC and the Transnational Giving Europe network (TGE), "Taxation of cross-border philanthropy in Europe after Persche and Stauffer - From landlock to free movement?"

European Philanthropy Manifesto In Short

This European Philanthropy Manifesto is a call to policymakers in Europe to work towards a Single Market for Philanthropy by taking these 4 steps: EMPOWER philanthropyFACILITATE cross-border philanthropyENGAGE with philanthropyPARTNER with philanthropy for public goodThis paper is a practical guide for philanthropy representatives on how to relay the key messages in the Manifesto towards policymakers at national, European and international levels

Philanthropic Organisations using the entire toolbox for more impact : Paper on foundation practice, as well as regulatory and policy environment

Philanthropic organisations have a great role to play when it comes to achieving and generating positive social change. Foundations can adopt diverse strategies and benefit from an extensive toolbox of non-financial and financial resources from their programme activities and the investments of their endowments.There is a growing realisation that involvement in impact investing may offer a chance to build on their organisational, social and environmental impact. On one hand, philanthropic organisations are seeing opportunities to expand their toolbox by incorporating impact investing approaches into their grantmaking capacity. On the other hand, a wider societal shift in expectations for investments of their endowments to create more than financial returns has led to a growing interest in this area amongst philanthropic organisations when investing their endowments. Several foundations have also taken a new strategic direction to take a holistic approach towards their programme and endowment investing side.This paper is jointly crafted by the key European philanthropy networks working in the field of philanthropic organisations and impact investing: Impact Europe: the European investing for impact network, and Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association. It builds on both organisations' resources and joint actions, in particular a multi-year joint working group on philanthropic organisations' use of the full spectrum of capital, which provided valuable insights and case studies

Removing Obstacles to Cross-Border Philanthropy: The Time Is Now

This joint Philea – Transnational Giving Europe (TGE) publication presents case studies of 6 major obstacles to cross-border philanthropy. Each case study provides real-world examples of impacted foundations and donors, and delves into the broader legal and fiscal contexts behind each barrier. These case studies clearly illustrate the need to remove obstacles to the free movement of philanthropic capital and freedom of association across the EU and beyond. With this in mind, the publication offers recommendations to policymakers on ways to dismantle these barriers so that philanthropy in Europe can better fulfil its mission of providing private resources for public good

The Operating Environment for Public-Benefit Foundations in the Western Balkans Region : A Project Supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund

That study explores the operating environment for public-benefit foundations in the Western Balkans region. Examining the legal and tax framework for foundations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, it draws on data provided by local foundation law experts in each of the countries surveyed and presents a comparative analysis

New EU Anti-Money Laundering Rules Adopted in 2024 Briefer

This briefer is a summary of a report drafted by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law and Philanthropy Europe Association, with input from experts and practitioners who kindly shared their insights with us, particularly Civil Society Europe. In this briefer, we analyse the new set of rules aimed at fighting money laundering and terrorist financing that was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in May 2024

Unpacking the EU AML/CFT Package : Impacts on the Non-Profit Sector

Civil society organisations, be they associations, foundations or other public-benefitlegal arrangements, are increasingly affected by policies and security measuresadopted by global bodies, governments and private sector actors with the aim tocounter money-laundering and terrorism financing (AML/CFT). In May 2024, theEuropean Parliament and the Council of the European Union, adopted a new Anti-Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism package (hereafter alsoreferred to as: "package"), which was published in the Official Journal on 19 June2024. This paper aims to give a simple overview over this new EU AML/CFT packageand its potential impact on the non-profit sector. This paper can be considered a'living document', which will be updated as our understanding of the packageevolves based on new developments or information