BuffaloNews.com reported about a new wrinkle surfaced in City Hall's plan to provide grants to dozens of arts and cultural groups after Mayor Byron W. Brown vetoed a Common Council bill.
Brown's office stressed that the mayor remains committed to providing one-time grants to arts organizations, but he objects to the way the Council has structured the aid.
As one of their final actions before leaving for summer break, lawmakers late last month unanimously approved a plan to channel $200,000 to city-based arts groups.
Under an informal deal that was hatched between the Council and the Brown administration, lawmakers would provide $100,000 from their budget lines, while the executive branch would provide another $100,000.
Mayoral spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said today that the administration remains committed to providing the money. But he said Brown objects the Council specifying how the entire $200,000 sum will be spent.
Lawmakers insist that the money should be channeled to 27 city-based arts groups that saw their Erie County funding eliminated. The Council wants to use the Funds for the Arts, a consortium of local foundations that has distributed aid to cultural groups, as a pass-through entity for the city aid.
While the mayor has "no problem" with any of the groups on the Council's list, DeGeorge said, Brown believes that he should have the right to establish his own process for distributing the $100,000 that his office is providing. All arts groups that are currently on the Council's list would be welcome to apply, as would other Buffalo-based cultural groups, DeGeorge said.
Read more here.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Governor Orders Review of Executive Compensation at Nonprofits
From the Governor's Website
Albany, NY (August 3, 2011) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has created a new task force to investigate the executive and administrator compensation levels at not-for-profits that receive taxpayer support from the state. The task force will be led by the New York State Inspector General Ellen Biben, Secretary of State Cesar A. Perales, the Medicaid Inspector General Jim Cox, and the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky.
"Not-for-profits that provide services to the poor and the needy have a special obligation to the taxpayers that support them. Executives at these not-for-profits should be using the taxpayer dollars they receive to help New Yorkers, not to line their own pockets. This task force will do a top-to-bottom review, not only to audit current compensation levels, but also to make recommendations for future rules to ensure taxpayer dollars are used to serve and support the people of this state, not pay for excessive salaries and compensation," Governor Cuomo said.
Governor Cuomo continued, "There is a whole range of compensation levels and extremes that have existed for too long and must be reviewed. The use of taxpayer dollars must be scrutinized at every level."
The Governor's task force will determine the protocol and scope of the investigation in order to target the audit to focus on ensuring that state taxpayer dollars meant to help and protect New Yorkers, particularly the poor and indigent, are going to that purpose and are not being diverted to compensation. It will also provide recommendations for State agency policies and procedures that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being diverted to excessive compensation.
Commissioners from the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and OPWDD will also serve on the task force.
The Governor's action follows reports of startlingly excessive salaries and compensation packages for executives at not-for-profits that depended on state Medicaid funding through the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and other State agencies.
The State's Medicaid Inspector General has the authority necessary to exclude providers from participation in the Medicaid program if it is found that they have engaged in fraudulent or abusive practices.
There are currently no state rules governing executive and administrative compensation for not-for-profits that receive state support.
According to the Department of the Budget's January 2010 preliminary analysis of not-for-profit employees contracting with the mental hygiene agencies (Office of People With Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, and Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services), there were approximately 1,926 employees with annual salaries greater than or equal to $100,000. The total value of their salaries was $324.6 million, with an average salary of $168,555.
NYCON Statement on Governor's
Review of Executive Compensation:
"NYCON supports IRS and state enforcement efforts to root out those relatively few and often large institutional nonprofits, especially in health care and higher education, where charitable resources are used for the private and personal gain of executives. Such abuses are a stain on the sector and the Governor is right, public trust is integral to the mission and work of our state's charities. The Internal Revenue Service already provides compensation guidelines as set forth in the federal tax code and we believe those guidelines should be upheld.
It needs to be emphasized, however, that these cases are very much the exception.
The vast majority of community-based nonprofit employees are doing hard and challenging work at compensation levels that are far below public employees and often the for-profit sector. It should also be noted that the phrase "taxpayer supported nonprofits" is misleading as the state government contracts to buy services from nonprofits, just as it contracts with the for-profit sector; except the nonprofit is often expected to unfairly perform at below the actual cost of doing business. Perhaps it is also time to order an extensive review of the executive compensation levels of "taxpayer supported for-profit businesses."
NYCON asks the Governor to take this opportunity to go beyond the immediate executive compensation issue and take a comprehensive look at how the state's overall regulatory and business relationship with the nonprofit sector can be improved in the interest of all concerned."
Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.
http://www.nycon.org/
1-800-515-5012, ext 103
dsauer@nycon.org
Albany, NY (August 3, 2011) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has created a new task force to investigate the executive and administrator compensation levels at not-for-profits that receive taxpayer support from the state. The task force will be led by the New York State Inspector General Ellen Biben, Secretary of State Cesar A. Perales, the Medicaid Inspector General Jim Cox, and the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky.
"Not-for-profits that provide services to the poor and the needy have a special obligation to the taxpayers that support them. Executives at these not-for-profits should be using the taxpayer dollars they receive to help New Yorkers, not to line their own pockets. This task force will do a top-to-bottom review, not only to audit current compensation levels, but also to make recommendations for future rules to ensure taxpayer dollars are used to serve and support the people of this state, not pay for excessive salaries and compensation," Governor Cuomo said.
Governor Cuomo continued, "There is a whole range of compensation levels and extremes that have existed for too long and must be reviewed. The use of taxpayer dollars must be scrutinized at every level."
The Governor's task force will determine the protocol and scope of the investigation in order to target the audit to focus on ensuring that state taxpayer dollars meant to help and protect New Yorkers, particularly the poor and indigent, are going to that purpose and are not being diverted to compensation. It will also provide recommendations for State agency policies and procedures that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being diverted to excessive compensation.
Commissioners from the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and OPWDD will also serve on the task force.
The Governor's action follows reports of startlingly excessive salaries and compensation packages for executives at not-for-profits that depended on state Medicaid funding through the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and other State agencies.
The State's Medicaid Inspector General has the authority necessary to exclude providers from participation in the Medicaid program if it is found that they have engaged in fraudulent or abusive practices.
There are currently no state rules governing executive and administrative compensation for not-for-profits that receive state support.
According to the Department of the Budget's January 2010 preliminary analysis of not-for-profit employees contracting with the mental hygiene agencies (Office of People With Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, and Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services), there were approximately 1,926 employees with annual salaries greater than or equal to $100,000. The total value of their salaries was $324.6 million, with an average salary of $168,555.
NYCON Statement on Governor's
Review of Executive Compensation:
"NYCON supports IRS and state enforcement efforts to root out those relatively few and often large institutional nonprofits, especially in health care and higher education, where charitable resources are used for the private and personal gain of executives. Such abuses are a stain on the sector and the Governor is right, public trust is integral to the mission and work of our state's charities. The Internal Revenue Service already provides compensation guidelines as set forth in the federal tax code and we believe those guidelines should be upheld.
It needs to be emphasized, however, that these cases are very much the exception.
The vast majority of community-based nonprofit employees are doing hard and challenging work at compensation levels that are far below public employees and often the for-profit sector. It should also be noted that the phrase "taxpayer supported nonprofits" is misleading as the state government contracts to buy services from nonprofits, just as it contracts with the for-profit sector; except the nonprofit is often expected to unfairly perform at below the actual cost of doing business. Perhaps it is also time to order an extensive review of the executive compensation levels of "taxpayer supported for-profit businesses."
NYCON asks the Governor to take this opportunity to go beyond the immediate executive compensation issue and take a comprehensive look at how the state's overall regulatory and business relationship with the nonprofit sector can be improved in the interest of all concerned."
Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.
http://www.nycon.org/
1-800-515-5012, ext 103
dsauer@nycon.org
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Nominate Your CPA Board Member for Special Award!
2011 Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award Now Accepting Nominations
Sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA)
Submission Accepted through August 22nd, 2011
In recognition of the important role, talents and leadership that a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State can provide as a board member for community-based charities, NYCON and NYSSCPA are pleased to announce the 8th Annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award.
The award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, former partner of Urbach, Kahn and Werlin, former NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance and Chair of the State Employees federated Appeal, and board leader of a number of charities.
Award Criteria & Submission
Candidates must:
Sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA)
Submission Accepted through August 22nd, 2011
In recognition of the important role, talents and leadership that a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State can provide as a board member for community-based charities, NYCON and NYSSCPA are pleased to announce the 8th Annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award.
The award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, former partner of Urbach, Kahn and Werlin, former NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance and Chair of the State Employees federated Appeal, and board leader of a number of charities.
Award Criteria & Submission
Candidates must:
- Be a CPA in good standing and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants;
- Have served as an Officer on at least 3 different charitable 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofits with service as President/Chair at least once;
- Have demonstrated exemplary board leadership resulting in significant and positive organizational impact including, but not limited to, financial turn-around, growth, and/or organizational re-structuring; and
- Preference will be given to nominees whose board leadership accomplishments have been with community-based charities.
Deadline - August 22, 2011
Nominations addressing the candidate's qualifications must be received by August 22nd. Nominators are strongly encouraged to address the candidate's qualifications related to the four (4) criteria's mentioned above and to include at least three (3) letters of support from the charities who have benefited from the candidate's volunteer leadership.
Send seven (7) packets of nomination materials to:
Urbach Community Builders Award Committee
New York Council of Nonprofits
272 Broadway
Albany NY 12204
or email the packet to Melissa Currado, Executive Assistant to the CEO at mcurrado@nycon.org.
Announcement & Presentation
The 2011 award will be formally presented at the Annual Member Meeting of NYCON slated for the afternoon of October 6th at Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York.
The Luncheon will take place during CAMP FINANCE, a two-day retreat that provides the very best in knowledge, skill and strategy sessions for your staff and volunteer leaders.
In honor of the late Harold Mandel, a certified public accountant who worked for Urbach, Kahn & Werlin in Albany, NY and retired in West Palm Beach, FL, the 2011 Urbach Honoree has the privilege to award one (1) nonprofit executive of their choice a Camp Finance scholarship in Hal's name. In 2009, Mr. Mandel's family accepted a posthumous Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builders Award in his tribute.
Past Urbach Award Honorees
2010
Edward S. Mucenski, CPA of Potsdam
2009
Lewis "Lew" Kramer, CPA of Chappaqua
2008
Mel Zachter, CPA of Staten Island
2007
Eugene H. Fleishman, CPA of Poughkeepsie
2006
Craig Sickler, CPA from Kingston
2005
Paul Battaglia, CPA from Batavia
For More Information
visit NYCON at http://www.nycon.org/ or contact Melissa Currado at (800) 515-5012 or mcurrado@nycon.org
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
New Employee Fee For Nonprofits Using NYS Unemployment Insurance
Read below about the recent news about a new fee per employee for employers related to NYS Unemployment Insurance borrowing. As a nonprofit, there is another alternative, which you can learn about from NYCON:
Find Out if the Unemployment Savings Program for NYCON Members through First Nonprofits Companies can Save You Money.
Why pay a tax if you don’t have to? Many NYCON Members have switched from paying the state unemployment tax rates to First Nonprofit Unemployment Savings Program saving up to 60% of their unemployment costs annually. Find out if you can too. Take NYCON's FREE upcoming Beneft Spotlight: Unemployment Savings Program on August 23rd from 10 am to 11am. REGISTER HERE
A Big Bill for Employers
The Albany Times Union reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday rolled out a sweeping plan to help revitalize the state's economy, complete with an ad campaign and competitive grant program designed to spark innovation.
But businesses have a more immediate concern: The bill is coming due for New York's unemployment insurance.
Citing the need to borrow more than $3 billion from the federal government to prop up its chronically empty account, the state faces a whopping $95 million interest payment on loans for the fund due Sept. 30.
As a result, the state Department of Labor is assessing businesses up to $21.25 per employee to cover the cost. That payment is due Aug. 15.
Complaints about what businesses describe as a hidden tax were rolling in Tuesday after numerous employers received the notices and as Cuomo expounded on his plans for the economy.
"This is something that could -- depending on the number of employees -- be a pretty hefty cost in this economy," said Mike Durant, New York state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
When asked about the surcharge during a news conference outlining his revitalization plans, Cuomo stressed that the bill for interest is ultimately coming from Washington, D.C.
"It's a federal decision whether or not they'll waive the interest payments. I hope that they do," he said, adding that his office was pushing the state's congressional delegation on the issue.
The hefty tab illustrates what can happen as the federal stimulus program, enacted shortly after the recession started in 2008, runs out.
The Department of Labor noted that the stimulus program provided no-interest loans to the states in 2009 and 2010, but not this year.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-big-bill-for-your-boss-1472786.php#ixzz1SetH4Zip
Find Out if the Unemployment Savings Program for NYCON Members through First Nonprofits Companies can Save You Money.
Why pay a tax if you don’t have to? Many NYCON Members have switched from paying the state unemployment tax rates to First Nonprofit Unemployment Savings Program saving up to 60% of their unemployment costs annually. Find out if you can too. Take NYCON's FREE upcoming Beneft Spotlight: Unemployment Savings Program on August 23rd from 10 am to 11am. REGISTER HERE
A Big Bill for Employers
The Albany Times Union reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday rolled out a sweeping plan to help revitalize the state's economy, complete with an ad campaign and competitive grant program designed to spark innovation.
But businesses have a more immediate concern: The bill is coming due for New York's unemployment insurance.
Citing the need to borrow more than $3 billion from the federal government to prop up its chronically empty account, the state faces a whopping $95 million interest payment on loans for the fund due Sept. 30.
As a result, the state Department of Labor is assessing businesses up to $21.25 per employee to cover the cost. That payment is due Aug. 15.
Complaints about what businesses describe as a hidden tax were rolling in Tuesday after numerous employers received the notices and as Cuomo expounded on his plans for the economy.
"This is something that could -- depending on the number of employees -- be a pretty hefty cost in this economy," said Mike Durant, New York state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
When asked about the surcharge during a news conference outlining his revitalization plans, Cuomo stressed that the bill for interest is ultimately coming from Washington, D.C.
"It's a federal decision whether or not they'll waive the interest payments. I hope that they do," he said, adding that his office was pushing the state's congressional delegation on the issue.
The hefty tab illustrates what can happen as the federal stimulus program, enacted shortly after the recession started in 2008, runs out.
The Department of Labor noted that the stimulus program provided no-interest loans to the states in 2009 and 2010, but not this year.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-big-bill-for-your-boss-1472786.php#ixzz1SetH4Zip
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Reassessing nonprofits' free ride
The Buffalo News reported that as they struggle for revenue, municipalities look to tax-exempt entities to pay their 'fair share'
The New York Power Authority's 2,900-acre spread in Lewiston, including its massive Niagara Power Project, is assessed at $1.8 billion.
The Canisius College campus is assessed at $69 million.
And the assessment for Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst is $37.7 million.
But they -- and scores of similar facilities owned or operated by nonprofits -- pay no village, town, city, school or county property taxes.
Now, local government officials here and across the country want to change this.
"It's an attempt to put a burden of the tax levy on the not-for-profits that are using services," said David C. Marrano, the Lancaster town assessor, who is negotiating payment agreements with nonprofits in the town. "At what point as a government do we ask these organizations to pay part of their fair share?"
Officials are prodding the operators of hospitals, senior housing facilities and private universities to pay something in place of property taxes.
At least 117 municipalities in 18 states -- most in the Northeast -- have reached payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreements with nonprofit organizations in the past, according to a report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Private colleges are frequent targets of revenue-seeking governments. Several Ivy League schools, along with Syracuse University and Schenectady's Union College, pay their host cities.
Syracuse will receive $2.5 million over the next five years from the university -- its largest owner of tax-exempt property -- in a deal reached last month, the Post-Standard newspaper reported.
Locally, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Episcopal Church Home & Affiliates and Hospice Buffalo all have reached payment agreements with their host communities.
Recent court cases have given the government officials leverage in negotiating these agreements, while in other cases the payments are worked out as part of the project approval process.
"We have been a partner with the Town of Cheektowaga since the origination," said Maureen Lehsten, chief financial officer for Hospice Buffalo, which operates the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. "We work really well together. They've supported us in our growth on the campus in Cheektowaga."
Boston, Pittsburgh and other cash-strapped municipalities have become more aggressive in negotiating these agreements as they seek new sources of revenue to balance their budgets.
In response, nonprofit leaders defend their tax-exempt status and tout the services they provide that otherwise would be a government responsibility.
But it's a matter of fairness to government officials, who say exempting so many parcels from property taxes shifts too much of the burden onto other businesses and homeowners.
"We don't have anywhere to go except the taxpayer," said Mike Johnson, the Town of Lewiston's finance director.
These nonprofit institutions provide valuable services: treating the sick and poor, housing the elderly and infirm and tending to the public's spiritual or educational needs.
For this reason, schools, churches, hospitals and government offices are for the most part exempt from property tax.
Those institutions often must pay special district taxes such as water, sewer or fire.
In cities and older villages, where government buildings, religious institutions and similar structures tend to be concentrated, tax-exempt properties can account for a large proportion of all properties.
Vast sums of money
In Lewiston, where Niagara University, the Power Authority and other entities hold vast tracts of land, 67.7 percent of property in the town is not taxable, said Linda E. Johnson, the town assessor.
"We have probably the largest amount of tax-exempt land in Western New York," she said.
In Buffalo, developer Rocco Termini pointed to the construction of the new federal courthouse, at a site that previously held tax-paying businesses, and the tax-exempt research properties at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
"The costs, they're not distributed among all the buildings. Fifty percent of the buildings downtown are paying 100 percent of the tax load," Termini said. "I think everybody should pay something."
In Amherst, nearly 30 percent of property is tax exempt, said Town Assessor Harry Williams.
What if the exemptions didn't exist?
Read more here.
The New York Power Authority's 2,900-acre spread in Lewiston, including its massive Niagara Power Project, is assessed at $1.8 billion.
The Canisius College campus is assessed at $69 million.
And the assessment for Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst is $37.7 million.
But they -- and scores of similar facilities owned or operated by nonprofits -- pay no village, town, city, school or county property taxes.
Now, local government officials here and across the country want to change this.
"It's an attempt to put a burden of the tax levy on the not-for-profits that are using services," said David C. Marrano, the Lancaster town assessor, who is negotiating payment agreements with nonprofits in the town. "At what point as a government do we ask these organizations to pay part of their fair share?"
Officials are prodding the operators of hospitals, senior housing facilities and private universities to pay something in place of property taxes.
At least 117 municipalities in 18 states -- most in the Northeast -- have reached payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreements with nonprofit organizations in the past, according to a report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Private colleges are frequent targets of revenue-seeking governments. Several Ivy League schools, along with Syracuse University and Schenectady's Union College, pay their host cities.
Syracuse will receive $2.5 million over the next five years from the university -- its largest owner of tax-exempt property -- in a deal reached last month, the Post-Standard newspaper reported.
Locally, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Episcopal Church Home & Affiliates and Hospice Buffalo all have reached payment agreements with their host communities.
Recent court cases have given the government officials leverage in negotiating these agreements, while in other cases the payments are worked out as part of the project approval process.
"We have been a partner with the Town of Cheektowaga since the origination," said Maureen Lehsten, chief financial officer for Hospice Buffalo, which operates the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. "We work really well together. They've supported us in our growth on the campus in Cheektowaga."
Boston, Pittsburgh and other cash-strapped municipalities have become more aggressive in negotiating these agreements as they seek new sources of revenue to balance their budgets.
In response, nonprofit leaders defend their tax-exempt status and tout the services they provide that otherwise would be a government responsibility.
But it's a matter of fairness to government officials, who say exempting so many parcels from property taxes shifts too much of the burden onto other businesses and homeowners.
"We don't have anywhere to go except the taxpayer," said Mike Johnson, the Town of Lewiston's finance director.
These nonprofit institutions provide valuable services: treating the sick and poor, housing the elderly and infirm and tending to the public's spiritual or educational needs.
For this reason, schools, churches, hospitals and government offices are for the most part exempt from property tax.
Those institutions often must pay special district taxes such as water, sewer or fire.
In cities and older villages, where government buildings, religious institutions and similar structures tend to be concentrated, tax-exempt properties can account for a large proportion of all properties.
Vast sums of money
In Lewiston, where Niagara University, the Power Authority and other entities hold vast tracts of land, 67.7 percent of property in the town is not taxable, said Linda E. Johnson, the town assessor.
"We have probably the largest amount of tax-exempt land in Western New York," she said.
In Buffalo, developer Rocco Termini pointed to the construction of the new federal courthouse, at a site that previously held tax-paying businesses, and the tax-exempt research properties at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
"The costs, they're not distributed among all the buildings. Fifty percent of the buildings downtown are paying 100 percent of the tax load," Termini said. "I think everybody should pay something."
In Amherst, nearly 30 percent of property is tax exempt, said Town Assessor Harry Williams.
What if the exemptions didn't exist?
Read more here.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sen. Schumer announces new website addendum
The Observer reported that Sen. Charles Schumer announced Wednesday a new addition to his website to help local non-profit organizations.
The Internal Revenue Service has recently released a list of New York non-profit organizations that have lost their tax exempt status. This list contained 275,000 nonprofits nationwide which included 19,000 non-profit organizations located in New York state.
"Upstate New York is hands down one of the best places in the country to live and raise a family. And we owe our high quality of life in large part to the tens of thousands of non-profit groups that serve our communities," Schumer said.
Approximately 562 nonprofits lost their status in the Southern Tier in addition to 687 nonprofits losing their status in Western New York.
"For several decades, large nonprofits have been required to submit an involved annual report to the federal government detailing their activities, income and expenses. But small, community-based nonprofits with limited revenue were exempt from this paper," Schumer said during a conference call.
In 2007, legislation was changed requiring all non-profit organizations to file a yearly form but most nonprofits were unaware of the new requirement, according to Schumer.
"Many of these organizations are too small to employ an accountant or tax lawyer to help them navigate the ever-changing nuances of the tax code, so they were completely unaware of the new requirement," Schumer said.
Being named on this list means, he implies, that a non-profit organization has not filed paperwork for three consecutive years. Being named on this list means nonprofits cannot continue having a nonprofit status and any income is eligible for taxation, including donations. Being eligible for taxation on donations can hinder fundraising.
If a nonprofit is on the IRS list and would like to reinstate their tax exempt status, there are various steps that must be taken.
"If a group has proof that they met the filing requirement for one or more of the last three years, they simply have to fax the form to the government, and they will be reinstated, free of charge," Schumer said.
If a group has failed to file the correct forms, forms can be resubmitted. The nonprofit status will be restored for a fee of $100 if the group has receipts that total less than $50,000 annually. The fee will increase from $100 to $850 effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Non-profit organizations who have questions about the whole process can go online to Schumer's website, www.senate.schumer.gov for more information and for the complete IRS list of non-profit organizations which have lost their status. The complete link is www.schumer.senate.gov/Public/irs_6_22_11.htm.
The Internal Revenue Service has recently released a list of New York non-profit organizations that have lost their tax exempt status. This list contained 275,000 nonprofits nationwide which included 19,000 non-profit organizations located in New York state.
"Upstate New York is hands down one of the best places in the country to live and raise a family. And we owe our high quality of life in large part to the tens of thousands of non-profit groups that serve our communities," Schumer said.
Approximately 562 nonprofits lost their status in the Southern Tier in addition to 687 nonprofits losing their status in Western New York.
"For several decades, large nonprofits have been required to submit an involved annual report to the federal government detailing their activities, income and expenses. But small, community-based nonprofits with limited revenue were exempt from this paper," Schumer said during a conference call.
In 2007, legislation was changed requiring all non-profit organizations to file a yearly form but most nonprofits were unaware of the new requirement, according to Schumer.
"Many of these organizations are too small to employ an accountant or tax lawyer to help them navigate the ever-changing nuances of the tax code, so they were completely unaware of the new requirement," Schumer said.
Being named on this list means, he implies, that a non-profit organization has not filed paperwork for three consecutive years. Being named on this list means nonprofits cannot continue having a nonprofit status and any income is eligible for taxation, including donations. Being eligible for taxation on donations can hinder fundraising.
If a nonprofit is on the IRS list and would like to reinstate their tax exempt status, there are various steps that must be taken.
"If a group has proof that they met the filing requirement for one or more of the last three years, they simply have to fax the form to the government, and they will be reinstated, free of charge," Schumer said.
If a group has failed to file the correct forms, forms can be resubmitted. The nonprofit status will be restored for a fee of $100 if the group has receipts that total less than $50,000 annually. The fee will increase from $100 to $850 effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Non-profit organizations who have questions about the whole process can go online to Schumer's website, www.senate.schumer.gov for more information and for the complete IRS list of non-profit organizations which have lost their status. The complete link is www.schumer.senate.gov/Public/irs_6_22_11.htm.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Boston Pushes PILOTs for Nonprofits
Tim Delaney, President & CEO, National Council of Nonprofits, posted to Huffington Post about the recent issue of PILOTS in Boston.
As he relates: Leaders of nonprofit organizations across America were stunned by reports this week in the Boston Globe and NPR's Marketplace that the City of Boston would turn its back on the nonprofit cultural, educational, and health care institutions that have played such vital roles in making that city great.
What stunned nonprofit leaders nationwide is that Boston sent letters essentially mandating that various nonprofits make "Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes" (PILOTs) to the city based on the value of their property, even though Massachusetts law -- like the law in all 50 states -- prohibits local governments from taxing nonprofit property. What in turn shocked nonprofit leaders is how Boston intends to enforce its supposedly "voluntary" PILOT program: with a Scarlet-letter campaign designed to coerce compliance with the city's demand for "voluntary" payments.
Boston has concocted an Orwellian program that uses euphemisms -- such as "PILOTs" instead of "property taxes" and "voluntary" instead of "coerced" -- apparently attempting to hide what is really happening to evade what the law prohibits. The city, knowing the courts would strike down as an illegal act any attempt to directly impose property taxes on charitable nonprofits, invented a program to coerce "voluntary" Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes. But slapping on a misleading label to cover a bad act does not render it any more acceptable; a payment based on property value is still a tax.
To enforce its legally unenforceable program, Boston has threatened to paint a Scarlet letter of shame on every nonprofit that does not comply with the city's demands for payments. Such coercion to obtain what the Commonwealth's law prohibits is outrageous and threatens everyone; who's next, when Boston -- or any government -- wants something the law prohibits?
The city's program also disregards unique aspects of nonprofit law, thus putting coerced nonprofits at risk of running afoul of the Massachusetts Attorney General, who has jurisdiction to oversee that funds donated to nonprofits are used as donors intend. By demanding that nonprofits pay the city 25 percent of their property's tax value, the city is whipsawing nonprofits, putting them in a lose-lose dilemma: either undergo the city's shameful public branding, or cave in to the city's demands to pay, only to have the Massachusetts Attorney General come after the nonprofit if donors complain that they gave their money for purposes other than transfers to the city treasury.
In trying to balance its budget on the backs of people served by charities and those who donate to them, Boston has disregarded not only the law, but also fiscal reality. The recession already has stretched nonprofits too far financially as demands for their services have skyrocketed while their revenues have nosedived, with corporate contributions declining, foundation grants down, and governments delaying payments and not paying full costs on legally-binding contracts. According to the IRS, even individual giving has sagged by 20 percent. Read more here.
As he relates: Leaders of nonprofit organizations across America were stunned by reports this week in the Boston Globe and NPR's Marketplace that the City of Boston would turn its back on the nonprofit cultural, educational, and health care institutions that have played such vital roles in making that city great.
What stunned nonprofit leaders nationwide is that Boston sent letters essentially mandating that various nonprofits make "Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes" (PILOTs) to the city based on the value of their property, even though Massachusetts law -- like the law in all 50 states -- prohibits local governments from taxing nonprofit property. What in turn shocked nonprofit leaders is how Boston intends to enforce its supposedly "voluntary" PILOT program: with a Scarlet-letter campaign designed to coerce compliance with the city's demand for "voluntary" payments.
Boston has concocted an Orwellian program that uses euphemisms -- such as "PILOTs" instead of "property taxes" and "voluntary" instead of "coerced" -- apparently attempting to hide what is really happening to evade what the law prohibits. The city, knowing the courts would strike down as an illegal act any attempt to directly impose property taxes on charitable nonprofits, invented a program to coerce "voluntary" Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes. But slapping on a misleading label to cover a bad act does not render it any more acceptable; a payment based on property value is still a tax.
To enforce its legally unenforceable program, Boston has threatened to paint a Scarlet letter of shame on every nonprofit that does not comply with the city's demands for payments. Such coercion to obtain what the Commonwealth's law prohibits is outrageous and threatens everyone; who's next, when Boston -- or any government -- wants something the law prohibits?
The city's program also disregards unique aspects of nonprofit law, thus putting coerced nonprofits at risk of running afoul of the Massachusetts Attorney General, who has jurisdiction to oversee that funds donated to nonprofits are used as donors intend. By demanding that nonprofits pay the city 25 percent of their property's tax value, the city is whipsawing nonprofits, putting them in a lose-lose dilemma: either undergo the city's shameful public branding, or cave in to the city's demands to pay, only to have the Massachusetts Attorney General come after the nonprofit if donors complain that they gave their money for purposes other than transfers to the city treasury.
In trying to balance its budget on the backs of people served by charities and those who donate to them, Boston has disregarded not only the law, but also fiscal reality. The recession already has stretched nonprofits too far financially as demands for their services have skyrocketed while their revenues have nosedived, with corporate contributions declining, foundation grants down, and governments delaying payments and not paying full costs on legally-binding contracts. According to the IRS, even individual giving has sagged by 20 percent. Read more here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
