TIGTA Advises Increased Examination of Exempt Organizations
by Amanda Adams*, 3/27/2008
A report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), found that the Tax Exempt/Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examines fewer than 1 percent of the 70,000 applications from groups applying for tax-exempt status each year.
BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that; "One of the solutions discussed has been to periodically check on whether the organizations are still meeting their tax-exempt purposes and filing requirements. For instance, Congress has discussed the possibility of requiring informal filings by some charities on their fifth anniversary of being recognized as tax-exempt. The advisory committee to the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities unit at IRS recommended an operational review at three years, five years, or some other interval after tax exemption to focus on actual operations, charitable accomplishments, relationships with insiders, and lobbying and political activity."
Could these recommendations be a slippery slope, leading to the IRS assessing a charities' performance?
