New Tax Form Penalizes Charities That Sell Donated Goods, Charity Says

Goodwill Industries says the revised Form 990 informational tax form will create significant burdens for charities that receive large numbers of donated goods and products.

The charity, which says 60 percent of its operating revenue comes through the sale of donated goods, issued a statement saying that the proposed form would require it to spend too much money recording and categorizing such donations for the government.

“Every dollar spent meeting pointless reporting requirements is a dollar we don’t have to spend on programs that help people find jobs and become financially independent, tax-paying members of their communities,” says George W. Kessinger, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.

The new form would require organizations to record donations based on 22 or more different types of items.

“Like the IRS, Goodwill is concerned that some donors may have tried to overvalue donations for tax purposes,” says Mr. Kessinger. “Recent tightening of the tax laws has already addressed this problem.”

The IRS has been making revisions to the proposed form in recent weeks as a result of public comments.