Re: AERC and the IRS

[K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>]

Okay, I AM going to have to go look up the damn tax code.  JUST how I want
to spend the rest of my weekend.  This doesn't answer my qustions at all,
and I can't even write back to ask for more details.

Though it coincidees (a little bit) with my understanding of tax-exempt
organizations, it certainly doesn't coincide with my understanding of what
it says in Proposal 1 in the Endurance News, nor does it coincide with my
understanding of what Randy Eiland said, and what Randy Eiland said the
IRS said.

It doesn't shed any light on what the tax status of the AERC currently is,
it doesn't shed any light on what it is the Board of Directors is
proposing that we do.  And eeven if it did provide me with information
that I thought was useful, the source could be Mickey Mouse for all I know
(who aint' "no tax lawyer" either).

I will hunt down the applicable codes, provide here those that the Board
of Directors is proposing we adopt as part of our Articles of
Incorporation, and give my take on what they mean, what it means to the
future of the organization...

...and since I am an opinionated so and so, I will also probably give my
opinion on how _I_ will vote on the issue.

However if it is an issue of whether the AERC ought to be a "charitable"
organization, rather than just one that is "not for profit" and therefore
tax-exempt.

Well...the AERC is not, and should not be a charitable organization.  It
is, as far as I am concerned, an orgaization that should exist to serve
the interests of the membership with regards to their participation in
endurance riding.

And I repeat one of my original requests can SOMEBODY tell me where I can
get a copy of the CURRENT Articles of Incorporation, since it won't do me
any good to look up the applicable tax codes and determine if the proposed
changes are necessary/desirable if I don't know what the current ones say.

If they have already been sent to me, once upon a time, they are lost in
the morass of paperwork that is my dining room table.  All I know is I
have no recollection of ever having seen them, and they are NOT included
in the book "AERC Rules and Regulations" of 1997.  I suppose it is
possible that they were included in earlier versions of the book that I
have since thrown away. 

kat
Orange County, Calif.

On Sun, 11 Oct 1998 guest@endurance.net wrote:

> From: guest 
> Email: guest@endurance.net
> 
> I'm no tax lawyer but....
> 
> The issue with the IRS and AERC's 501(c)3 tax status may be misinterpreted by the membership.
> 
> There are a number of 501(c)X types of classifications available from the IRS. Almost all of these classifications are TAX EXEMPT.
> 
> However, only one of these is ALSO tax-deductible which is important when those donating to the organization expect to write it off. This is the 501(c)3 type of corporation.
> 
> To be a 501(c)3 the corporation must declare itself as this type from the date of incorporation or within the following 18 months. It is difficult/impossible to alter an existing organization from any of the other 501(c) types to a 501(c)3 once the organization has existed.
> 
> It sounds like the IRS is declaring that AERC will continue to be tax-exempt (which is no big deal since it is a non-profit org), HOWEVER, it sounds as if the IRS is demanding that AERC downgrade from a tax-exempt AND tax-deductible organization to merely that of tax-exempt due to the method in which AERC has been operated.
> 
> If no one currently donates goods, services or funds to AERC expecting a write off then there will be little effect on the organization and its income.
> 
> Be warned that once the tax status is changed from a 501(c)3 to another 501(c) type there will be no going back to the tax-deductible non-profit status for AERC.
>