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A fresh look at some of the stories we reported on in the past weeks.
Revenue
To
A ct T
Return
In 1993?
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
ASSISTANT EDITOR
n amendment expect-
ed to change the sta-
tus of some charitable
deductions died last year
after President George
Bush vetoed it, but
observers say the amend-
ment may yet come back
to life.
The Revenue Act of
1992, proposed by Sen.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
D-N.Y., is likely to come
back as part of a larger
tax package.
The 1992 Moynihan
amendment called on tax-
payers to list all donations
of $750 or more that could
be regarded quid pro quo
— donations for services
rendered. An example of
quid pro quo is someone
who writes a check for
$1,000 to Congregation
XYZ for a synagogue-spon-
sored trip to Israel. If
$900 of that check paid for
the trip, this must be
reported to the Internal
Revenue Service.
The Moynihan amend-
ment echoed law already
in effect, though it also
included a provision
directed specifically at
religious organizations.
The provision states that
quid pro quo contributions
are limited to travel,
tuition, entertainment
and "services that are gen-
erally available on a com-
mercial basis, or adver-
tised for an established
price."
Some observers were
concerned that "advertised
for an established price"
could translate to High
Holy Day tickets, accord-
ing to Washington tax
attorney David Miller,
who has been following
the issue. "Frankly, none
of us is exactly sure what
this means."
Meanwhile, the U.S.
Tax Court in Washington,
D.C., is expected to issue a
decision this spring
involving the Church of
Scientology and the IRS,
which also could have
serious implications for
other religious groups.
If the Court sides with
the IRS, observers say, it
would likely change the
status of any number of
services for which deduc-
tions are now claimed.
Rosh Hashanah tickets,
for example, would no
longer be tax deductible.
emple Shir Shalom
hopes to break ground
in late summer or early
fall fdr its new synagogue
at Walnut Lake and
Orchard Lake roads.
The temple had a dis-
pute with West Bloomfield
Township over the pro-
posed $5 million, 350-400-
seat synagogue. It eventu-
ally was settled after the
temple arranged High
Holiday parking at West
Bloomfield High School, a
quarter-mile north of the
site.
Shir Shalom president
Wally Sampson said, "We
have the chance of being in
the ground by late summer
if things (fund raising) con-
tinue as they are. We are
extremely pleased and
proud" of the contributions
that have been made. He
declined to disclose the
building fund total.
Funding will control
whether both phases of
construction will be done at
the same time, said
Building Committee chair-
man Allan Rothfeder.
Phase II would provide
8,000-9,000 square feet for
additional classrooms and
basement storage space.
Phase I and II would be
45,000 square feet, he said.
"It's quite likely we will
begin construction this cal-
endar year," Mr. Rothfeder
said. "That's why we
cleared the site (tearing
down two houses) last
summer and fall."
Jewish Leadership and
Values.
The Detroit group shared
the experience with 30 stu-
dents from Long Island,
N.Y.
Maria Kirzhner, a fresh-
man at Berkley High
School, was among the par-
ticipants. She moved to the
United States from the for-
mer Soviet Union one year
ago.
"I learned a lot about our
government," Maria said.
Among the activities were
listening to a Planned
Parenthood representative
speak at a House of
Representatives hearing,
scouring Capital Hill on a
scavenger hunt, meeting
with senate aides and "sen-
ator watching" on the sub-
way.
The students also con-
tributed food and toiletries
on a homeless walk. They
had the opportunity to see
poverty first hand on the
coldest night of the year in
Washington, D.C. The next
morning the students
learned three people died in
the bitter weather the previ-
ous night.
"I realized your voice is
not the lost one. It can make
a difference," Maria said.
Weeks, YAD raised $43,164
from 382 contributors. Some
70 pledges came from first-
time contributors, and 198
pledges reflected increases
over last year.
"It's very encouraging,"
said Mr. Krosnick. "The
true measure of success is
whether we can educate
people about the needs in
the community...and create
leaders out of our genera-
tion so we can carry the
torch."
More than 90 young
adults who contributed $100
to $500 attended a
Campaign dinner Feb. 2 in
Birmingham.
Joyce Miller, who worked
for the American Associ-
ation for Ethiopian Jews
between May 1990 and
1991, delivered the keynote
address. Mrs. Miller empha-
sized the worldwide need
for Campaign money.
Shir
T
Shalom
Shovels
Are Poised
ALAN HITSKY
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
I[ Students
Face The
Government
LESLEY PEARL
STAFF WRITER
,th t-E13 45,
1%
or
tc?
eti bPolitao
or
Allied Jewish Campaign
eventy-three Detroit-
area high school stu-
dents invaded the U.S.
Senate last week.
The students, partici-
pants in Panim El Panim,
literally "face to face," spent
2 1/2 days touring the
nation's Capitol and meet-
ing with political movers
and shakers. The program
was put on by the
Washington Institute for
Campaign T
Boosted By
Young
Adults
RUTH LITTMANN
STAFF WRITER
he Young Adult Division
of the Jewish
Federation of Metro-
politan Detroit has raised
more than $500,000 from
980 contributors for the
1993 Allied Jewish Cam-
Paign.
YAD Director Rick
Krosnick says this is an
$84,337 increase from the
same contributors over last
year.
During the recent Super