Here’s are some of the high points. Click the link for the full story.
Charities and other nonprofits exempted from taxes because they serve a public purpose have become a hotbed of tax evasion and abuse, according to the head of the Internal Revenue Service.
“We can see that tax abuse is increasingly present in the sector,” and unless the government takes effective steps to curb it, such organizations risk “the loss of the faith and support that the public has always given to this sector,”
Everson said that the IRS is finding problems in virtually every type of tax-exempt organization.
He noted that the nonprofit sector, including pension plans and the like, now totals roughly 3 million entities controlling $8 trillion in assets.
Everson raised particular concerns about nonprofit hospitals and how hard it is to distinguish them from for-profit hospitals; political activity by nonprofits; misuse of entities set up to allow religious leaders to hold property and conduct business for the benefit of a religious organization; and deals designed to allow members of a tribe to benefit from gambling revenue without owing taxes.
Everson raised particular concerns about nonprofit hospitals and how hard it is to distinguish them from for-profit hospitals
Actually, from my experience, it’s quite easy to tell. Non-profits are the ones that are well-staffed, treat both patients and staff with respect, and are generally decent places to be.
For-profit hospitals will do anything for the almighty buck, short-staffing, underpaying, treating staff like dirt. Which, of course, translates to poor treatment of patients.
The main difference? For-profit hospitals are competing solely for the benefit of their shareholders, most of whom will never set foot in that facility. Non-profits are competing for the overall good of the organization. It’s not a matter of what they are doing, it’s a matter of why they are doing it.
Then there’s the whole not-for-profit thing. The organization that can’t turn an overall profit, but has parts that can. Like the Red Cross. They make lots of money on blood, and run that like a business. A few years ago they closed half the donor centers in our area, which is ALWAYS short of blood, and cut back the hours on the rest. I can’t give anymore because of that.