Bruce R. Hopkins' Nonprofit Counsel

Issue Number

Latest documents

• Other Recent IRS Private Letter Rulings
• Schedule B Update
• Court: EO Director Not High‐Level Official for Church Audit Purposes

  The US District Court for the District of South Carolina, on March 13, held that the director of the Exempt Organizations Division holds too low a rank in the IRS bureaucracy to qualify as the official to initiate church tax audits (United States v. Bible Study Time, Inc.).

• Foreign Foundation Held Able to Treat Assets of Foreign Investment Vehicle as Those of Disregarded Entity, With Income Subject to Excise Tax

  The IRS granted a foreign private foundation an extension of time to file an entity classification election on behalf of a disregarded entity, thereby causing the entity's income and assets to be exempt from federal income tax but with the income subject to the private foundation excise tax (Priv. Ltr. Rul. 201808010).

• Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging “Two‐for‐One” Executive Order
• Developments Concerning Endowment Tax
• IRS Conjures New Basis for Revocation: Failure to Pay Employment Taxes
• Other Developments
• Provisions of Appropriations Act
• Supreme Court Saves US From Felony Prosecution for Tax Obstruction

Featured documents

• Easement Deduction Denial Affirmed Because of Lack of Mortgage Subordination

  The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, on January 6, affirmed a decision of the US Tax Court, holding that donors of a conservation easement to charity are not entitled to a charitable contribution deduction because, at the time of the gift, the easement was subject to an unsubordinated...

• Proposed Fractions Rule Regulations Issued

  Regulations were proposed on November 22, by the Treasury Department and the IRS, with respect to allocations of items by partnerships that have debt‐financed property and have one or more (but not all) qualified tax‐exempt organization partners (REG‐136978‐12). This proposal would amend existing...

• Grant Ruled Qualifying Distribution; Transfers by Grantee Ruled Indirect Self‐Dealing

  The IRS ruled that a private foundation grant will be a pass‐through (out‐of‐corpus) qualifying distribution, then ruled (incorrectly) that subsequent transfers by the grantee will constitute indirect acts of self‐dealing on the grounds that they will (ostensibly) be made to a disqualified person (P...

• Syndicated Conservation Easement Gifts Identified as Listed Transactions

  The Department of the Treasury and the IRS formally announced, on December 23, their awareness that promoters are syndicating conservation easement transactions purporting to give investors the opportunity to obtain charitable contribution deductions in amounts that significantly exceed the amount...

• (No) Exempt Business League Corner
• Another Court of Appeals Agrees: Mortgages Must Be Subordinated to Have Deductible Easement Gift

  The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on August 12, joined the Tenth Circuit in holding that for a donor to validly claim a charitable deduction for the contribution of a conservation easement, any mortgage or other financing on the property must be subordinated to the easement at the time ...

• Court Summarizes Fiduciary Duties Involving Supporting Organizations

  A December 14 court decision brings a reminder that, in the context of supporting organizations, not only must the voluminous federal tax regulations be followed but also the applicable trust law must be considered (assuming one of the parties is a trust) (Cohen v. Minneapolis Jewish Federation (W.D...

• Executive Compensation Amounts and Arrangements Held Amply Reasonable

  In an opinion of significance to public charities and other types of tax‐exempt organizations, the US Tax Court ruled, on May 11, that compensation paid to two company executives, who are working hard and otherwise are integral to the success of the entity, is amply reasonable (H.W. Johnson, Inc. v....

• Federal Court of Appeals Holds State Schedule B Disclosure Regime Constitutional

  The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, on February 15, upheld a district court's decision that New York's requirement that fundraising charities disclose the identity of their donors to the state's attorney general does not violate the First Amendment (Citizens United and Citizens United...

• Foundation Wins Set‐Aside, Long Extension of It, for Complex Student Debt‐Reduction Program

  The IRS issued a private letter ruling approving a set‐aside of funds (IRC § 4942(g)(2)), as well as finding good cause for a significant extension of time for paying them, in connection with a student debt‐reduction program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers who...