January 29, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
A former top IRS official is asking the Treasury Department to publish guidelines that would tell charities — and the IRS itself — what the federal government specifically expects from nonprofit organizations on matters of governance.
The federal tax code does not explicitly set out governance standards for the IRS to enforce, but the tax agency has shown increasing interest in keeping an eye on charity governance practices.
“Because there is no precedential federal tax law guidance that prescribes the appropriate standards for nonprofit governance, a number of my clients have raised questions about how to comply with the new IRS initiatives,” Marc Owens, a Washington lawyer specializing in nonprofit issues, told the Treasury Department in a letter.
“To address these inquiries, it would be helpful to have clear direction from the Treasury Department regarding the specific standards to which nonprofits will be held,” said Mr. Owens, who is the former chief of the IRS’s tax-exempt division.
To read Mr. Owens’s letter, go to http://philanthropy.com/documents/v21/i06/im4511_20090114_150341.pdf.
