Can a new tax plan make nonprofits more “effective”? That’s what the House is hoping. A draft bill recently announced by the House Ways and Means Committee would penalize nonprofits for activities that the Committee has determined are not effective uses of charitable funds. Specifically, the bill would: • Impose a 25% surtax on nonprofits …
Blog
Lerner Pleads the Fifth – AGAIN
The theme of this week’s blogs is déjà vu. Earlier today we told you that the charitable deduction is being threatened – AGAIN. And Lois Lerner, former head of the IRS division on exempt organizations, refused to answer questions – AGAIN. Readers of this blog remember Lerner pleading the Fifth in May 2013 at a …
Charitable Deduction Under Attack – AGAIN
How much does your nonprofit rely on donations from wealthy individuals? Many nonprofit leaders are asking themselves that very question right now. Once again, calls from both Democrats and Republicans threaten to limit the charitable deduction. In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2015 (which starts October 1, 2015), President Obama caps all itemized deductions …
The IRS Wants Your Responsible Party to Keep in Touch
Several times each year we receive letters form the IRS for former clients who failed to update the IRS of changes in their contact information. The result of failing to keep the IRS, or any other regulator, apprised of new contact information can be devastating – including loss of exemption. Perhaps as a result of …
Is it Better to Use Volunteers or Unpaid Interns?
Does your nonprofit use volunteers or unpaid interns? You may remember that last year California started fining employers who misclassify employees between $5,000-15,000 per incident in addition to any other penalties or fines. This not only applies to when an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor, but can also apply when an employee is misclassified …
Tea Party Orgs Do NOT Forgive the IRS
Last year we asked you whether you had forgiven the IRS yet for the 501(c)(4) social welfare “targeting” scandal. It is clear that many Tea Party groups have not. A class action lawsuit accuses the IRS of singling out Tea Party members and other conservative organizations for unfair and illegal “intensive and intrusive scrutiny.” The …