Write-Offs

The Internal Revenue Service has released an updated plan for the next several years that pledges a continuation of “focused oversight of the tax-exempt sector.” In its Strategic Plan 2009-2013, the IRS said that “the massive size of this sector requires us to provide more careful oversight and advisory support than ever before.” The government said it will “discourage those who abuse tax-exempt status by actively seeking them out and addressing wrongdoing, making it clear that violations carry a high risk of meaningful punishment.” The plan is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3744.pdf.

A new top charity regulator has been named at the IRS. Sarah Hall Ingram, whose IRS experience includes service from 2004 to 2006 as deputy commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, has taken over leadership of the division from Steven T. Miller. He had served as commissioner since 2004, and will now become commissioner of the tax agency’s Large and Mid-Size Business Division.

The IRS has released the first in a series of filing tips to help nonprofit organizations prepare their Form 990 informational tax return, the primary document that groups file each year. The first tips offer a “preparation checklist of important considerations” that nonprofit organizations should take into account. The IRS redesigned the Form 990 for the 2008 tax year, making the most-significant changes to the form in nearly 30 years. For more information, go to http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=206636,00.html.

A one-day meeting on “Issues in Nonprofit Governance,” co-sponsored by the IRS, will be held June 23 in Washington. Also sponsoring the event: Independent Sector, a national coalition of about 600 charities and foundations, and Georgetown University Law Center’s Continuing Legal Education program. For details, go to https://www.law.georgetown.edu/cle/ showEventDetail.cfm?ID=210.