EO Tax Journal

Nobody’s happy today — Senator Grassley is irked by Rahm Emanuel, the Council on Foundations is irked by Treasury, House Republicans are irked by AARP, and AARP’s management is irked by House Republicans All in all, I’d say March has been an irksome month.

1 – Comments of Senator Grassley on Funding of Chicago Mayoral Transition by Private Foundations

2 – Council on Foundations Chides Treasury over Lack of Urgency in Revising Rev Proc. 92-94

3 – April 1 Hearing on AARP’s Organizational Structure and Finances Scheduled and Report Released; AARP’s Response Continue…

1 – Update on Joint Ventures

Attorney outlines implication of section 501(r) for joint ventures — healthcare tax practitioners may want to take note.

2 – Tax Court Holds Deductions for Facade Easement Not Properly Substantiated under Section 170

Am I the only one who thinks we could balance the federal budget by getting the IRS to audit every taxpayer claiming a facade easement? In the case reprinted below, if it were me and I planned on deducting a total of $705,000 as a charitable contribution for a facade easement, I’d be super careful. Sounds like the taxpayer in this case was anything but, neglecting to provide on Form 8283 the necessary information to satisfy section 170(f), and paid the price in Tax Court. Appeal, anyone? Continue…

Do EO tax practitioners need to know about section 403(b) plans? Yes and no. Probably enough to respond to a general inquiry about them. I assume that at most large firms the pension experts would step in if a 501(c)(3) client wanted to set up a 403(b) plan. At smaller firms I suppose it would be up to the EO practitioner. In one of my prior lives I actually set up a very simple 403(b) plan, mainly to see if any of the employees were interested.

One of the IRS’s 403(b) experts, Jason Levine, discussed these plans at the recent 47th annual Washington Nonprofit Legal & Tax Conference. I’m reprinting his outline, which readers may find as a check of their knowledge of this area, especially in light of some recent developments.

Section 403(b) Plan Update Continue…

1 – Nader on Athletic Scholarships

I haven’t been a fan of Ralph Nader’s for many years, but I do have to agree with him on his latest effort that athletic scholarships serve no educational purpose.

2 – State Charity Regulators Meeting in New York

While the ongoing program of state charity regulators at Columbia Law School does not appear to deal directly with tax issues, I thought readers would be interested in knowing a little about what our friends in the states are interested in — information gleaned from their conference agenda.

3 – Marc Owens’ Critique of the EO Workplan/Annual Report

Today I have the transcript of Marc Owens’ remarks on the EO Division’s FY 2011 workplan, as delivered on March 10 at the 47th annual Washington Nonprofit Legal & Tax Conference. Yesterday I sent along his outline (see email update 2011-52). Continue…

Tomorrow I will have a transcript of Marc Owens’ remarks on the EO Division’s FY 2011 workplan, as delivered on March 10 at the 47th annual Washington Nonprofit Legal & Tax Conference. Today I have his outline, which indicates his areas of concern and interest.

“DUCK AND COVER”
DEALING WITH IRS AUDIT PLANS FOR TAX EXEMPTS Continue…