IRS Official Stresses Its Role in Governance Matters

The new top charity regulator at the Internal Revenue Service has made clear she will continue the tax agency’s efforts to promote good governance by charities.

Sarah Hall Ingram, in remarks to a conference in Washington last week, said that the IRS has a “clear, unambiguous role to play” in governance matters.

“Some have argued that we do not need to be involved, because we can count on the states to do their job and the sector to stay on the path of self-regulation,” she said. “While both state regulation and sector regulation are important, and I welcome and respect them, they do not get the IRS off the hook.”

Ms. Ingram added: “Congress gave us a job to do, and we cannot delegate to others our obligation to enforce the conditions of federal tax exemption.”

Ms. Ingram’s remarks are available in the Charities and Nonprofits section of the IRS’s Web site.