Charity Law and Accumulation Maintaining an Intergenerational Balance

Much has been written in charity law on the type of benefits that charities can provide - charitable purposes - and towards whom such benefits must be directed - the public benefit question. Almost nothing has been written about when benefits must be provided. However, accumulation of assets by charities raises profound ethical, economic and social considerations that are highlighted by the present retreat of the welfare state and the impact of the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19. This book analyses the issue through a normative, doctrinal and comparative analysis of the legal constraints upon accumulation by charities. It reveals that the legal restraints contain significant gaps in relation to the intergenerational distribution of benefits and to the balance of decision-making between generations. In particular, the book asserts that there is room for law reform to better identify and incorporate principles of intergenerational justice into the regulation of charities.

Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; List of Acronyms; Frequently Cited Works; Table of Cases; Table of Statutes; Part I. Charities and Accumulation Delineated: 1. Introduction; 2. The Charity Sector, its Goals and Accumulation; Part II. Charities and Accumulation Delimited: 3. Legal Restraints on Accumulation Applicable on Creation; 4. Operational Restraints on Accumulation: Controller Duties; 5. Operational Restraints on Accumulation: Alternative Control Mechanisms; 6. Operational Restraints on Accumulation: Taxation; Part III. Charities and Accumulation Reformed: 7. Intergenerational Justice and the Intergenerational Distribution of Benefits; 8. Which Generation Decides the Intergenerational Distribution of Benefits?; 9. Enhanced Agency Costs; 10. Conclusion; Index.

Ian Murray is Associate Professor and Deputy Head of School – Research, UWA Law School, University of Western Australia. Dr Murray's research focuses on the intersection between not-for-profit law, tax and corporate governance. He has published widely and draws on a decade of practical experience as a lawyer, charity board member and university in-house counsel.