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Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT ...

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The Appropriate Role Of The Internal Revenue Service With Respect To <strong>Tax</strong>-<strong>Exempt</strong> Organizati<strong>on</strong> Good Governance IssuesAPPENDIX 5. EVOLUTION OF FORM 990 There has been an evoluti<strong>on</strong> over the last 66 years in the IRS’s interest in what wewould today characterize as charities’ governance as evidenced in the Form 990,Return of Organizati<strong>on</strong> <strong>Exempt</strong> from Income <strong>Tax</strong>. The Form 990 has grown from twopages (1942 Form 990) to an eleven-page core form with Schedules A through R for2008. On the 1942 Form 990, two officers were required to sign an Affidavit. Thisversi<strong>on</strong> of the form c<strong>on</strong>tains <strong>on</strong>ly three questi<strong>on</strong>s about the exempt organizati<strong>on</strong>,including “have your articles of incorporati<strong>on</strong> or by-laws or other instruments of similarimport been amended since your last return was filed, if so attach a copy.” In reviewingthe Forms 990 since 1960, we see increased inquiry in areas directly related toinurement <strong>and</strong> the operati<strong>on</strong>al test. Over time, more of these governance-type inquirieshave become more attenuated to the tax laws, presumably <strong>on</strong> the assumpti<strong>on</strong> that goodgovernance practices in a general sense result in more likely tax compliance.The 1960 Form 990-A was exp<strong>and</strong>ed to include fifteen questi<strong>on</strong>s about theorganizati<strong>on</strong>, some of which go directly to the organizati<strong>on</strong>al test <strong>and</strong>, today, can beviewed as inquiring about governance practices. For example, Questi<strong>on</strong> 14 asked ifcertain pers<strong>on</strong>s (creator, c<strong>on</strong>tributor, relative of creator/c<strong>on</strong>tributor, or corporati<strong>on</strong>owned 50% of more by creator/c<strong>on</strong>tributor) entered into any of the following financialtransacti<strong>on</strong>s with the organizati<strong>on</strong>:• Borrow any part of income or corpus?• Receive compensati<strong>on</strong> for pers<strong>on</strong>al services?• Have any part of the organizati<strong>on</strong>’s services made available to him?• Purchase any securities or other property from the organizati<strong>on</strong>?• Sell any securities or other property to the organizati<strong>on</strong>?• Receive any of the organizati<strong>on</strong>’s income or corpus in other transacti<strong>on</strong>s?If the answer to any was “yes,” a detailed statement was required.The 1962 Form 990-A instructi<strong>on</strong>s required a schedule to be attached reporting“compensati<strong>on</strong> of officers, directors, trustees, etc., showing name, positi<strong>on</strong>, timedevoted to positi<strong>on</strong>, salary, <strong>and</strong> expense account allowances.” In order to betterunderst<strong>and</strong> the relati<strong>on</strong>ships surrounding the organizati<strong>on</strong>, the 1963 Form 990-Ainstructi<strong>on</strong>s add the reporting of “…the relati<strong>on</strong>ship, if any, by blood, marriage, adopti<strong>on</strong>,or employment, of each such pers<strong>on</strong> to the creator of the organizati<strong>on</strong> (if a trust), to anypers<strong>on</strong> who has made a substantial c<strong>on</strong>tributi<strong>on</strong> to the organizati<strong>on</strong>, or to a corporati<strong>on</strong>c<strong>on</strong>trolled (by ownership of 50 percent or more) directly of indirectly, by such creator orc<strong>on</strong>tributor.”In 1964, the instructi<strong>on</strong>s for this disclosure were updated to require a schedule showingwhether each official (“officer, director, trustee, etc.”) was:ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (<strong>ACT</strong>) June 11, 2008 98

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