EO Tax Journal

1 - Leave Our Guy Alone

In Monday’s email update on The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual survey of salaries of leaders of public universities, it was noted that “As in 2008, E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, topped the Chronicle’sranking for 2009, with an annual compensation package valued at nearly $1.6 million.”

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1 – David Epstein on Marc Owens’ Comments on Need for Determinations Function

2 – Jim Hasson on University Tax Avoidance

3 – Pay Rises for Leaders of Colleges, Survey Says
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Today I have more on the Harvard audit and news that Suffolk University is joining Harvard in being targeted by the IRS.

Harvard Natural Target for IRS Audit, Administrator Says
University is one of 40 institutions of higher education to be audited
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Hopefully the kids at the Harvard Crimson will demand that Harvard make its IRS audit transparent. Aren’t students, as well as other Harvard constituencies, entitled to know what is going on? Speaking of transparency, if exemption applications and Form 990s and 990-Ts are open to public inspection, why are EO audits not open to the public?

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The reported audit of Harvard is a challenge for both Harvard and the IRS. Harvard needs to justify its compensation practices and its many joint ventures, among other issues. The IRS needs to show that is can assemble a first-class team from its Examinations function to audit an exempt organization that will field a team of the country’s best accountants and attorneys. The IRS Office of Chief Counsel needs to support this effort and demonstrate that its staff can compete with the best that the private sector offers. The IRS folks in Washington, from the commissioner on down, need to demonstrate fortitude as Harvard rallies its allies on the Hill and in the Obama Administration.

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