SGA Blog
White Space....Time for Creativity
As we are now deep into the Holiday Season, we are all busy running around to parties, shopping, and preparing for our celebrations. Here at the firm, we are all busy doing those things as well as preparing last minute tax projections for our clients, finishing up audit reports or finishing client projects before we take a few days off. Despite all of this day to day running around and tending to our clients, have we made time for a little "White Space?". Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Built to Last and How the Mighty Fall, describes "White Space" as a prerequisite for fresh and creative thought. He talks about putting away our "gadgets" and "disconnect".
So what does "White Space" do for our organizations?
New Proposed Rules from New Jersey on Charity Registration..Really??
Ok, it is the summer....sure we want to relax a bit, maybe catch some sun, have some hot dogs and just keep things going until September.
Well, the State of New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs are proposing new rules surrounding donations to NJ registered tax exempt charities. As you are aware, tax exempt organizations are required to comply with donor intent when receiving contributions. So if a donor restricts their contribution for a specific program, the charity can not use the funds for any other purpose.
The new rules would require any charity that solicits donations for more than one program, to disclose in their solicitation that the donation can be directed to a particular program or if left blank, the charity can use it for administrative or fundraising or any other program.
Have You Been Delisted by The IRS?
The IRS has just published the first Automatic Revocation of Exemption List. It lists about 275,000 nonprofits whose tax-exempt status has been revoked because they failed to file a Form 990, 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990-PF for three consecutive years.
If your organization appears on the list, you must now must file a federal income tax return and pay federal income taxes. If you previously could accept tax-deductible contributions, you no longer can do so.
Organizations that are affected can ask the IRS to reinstate their tax-exempt status retroactively. Applying can cost as much as $850, but the fee will be reduced for small groups that can prove they had good reason not to comply with the paperwork rules.
NJ DCA Raises Mandatory Audit Threshold for Non-Profits’ Charity Registrations
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has approved new regulations that will raise the mandatory audit threshold for charities under the “Charitable Registration and Investigation Act.”
Under New Jersey’s Charitable Registration and Investigation Act, most organizations must register and file annual financial reports with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Charities Registration Section. Groups that raise less than $10,000 in a year are exempt, provided that fundraising is conducted by persons who are not compensated for soliciting contributions. Religious organizations are also exempt, as are certain libraries and schools if specific conditions are met.
President Signs 1099 Repeal Bill
On April 14, 2011, President Obama signed legislation that repealed the expanded 1099 reporting requirements in the health care reform law and the Small Business Jobs Act. Repeal means that 1099 reporting rules for business transactions continue unchanged, 1099’s must be issued for payments of $600 or more to service providers. Repeal also means that the exception for sending 1099’s to most corporations remains in effect. A big win for nonprofits and small business!