DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY INTERNAL …

[Pages:28]TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

DIVISION

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20224

November 4, 2004

Dear Colleagues, Members of the Press and Taxpayers,

In Fiscal Year 2004, the IRS Exempt Organizations division (EO) set four broad strategic priorities to guide our workplan for the year. These priorities were to:

? improve understanding of and compliance with applicable tax laws, ? reduce the burden of compliance, ? improve operational efficiency, and ? protect the public interest by providing access to disclosable information.

EO made significant progress in each of these areas in FY2004. Our workplan for the coming year will build upon the foundation laid by these accomplishments, balancing enforcement and service to improve compliance. Before describing the specifics of that plan, let's look at some of our accomplishments.

FY2004 Accomplishments

Improve understanding and compliance. Ensuring that the tax-exempt community understands and complies with applicable tax laws and regulations is crucial for maintaining public confidence and fairness in tax administration. Some of the initiatives launched in 2004 supporting this priority included:

? Credit Counseling Compliance Project; ? Identifying and Combating Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions (ATAT); ? Anti-terrorism Activities; ? Tax Exempt Compensation Enforcement Project; ? Fundraising Expenses Education Project; ? IRC Section 527 Political Organizations Compliance Project; ? Published Guidance:

? Revenue Ruling 2004-51: provided guidance regarding ancillary joint ventures of section 501(c)(3) organizations.

? Notice 2004-35: proposed regulations excluding income distributions from trusts and estates from a private foundation's net investment income under IRC section 4940.

? Notice 2004-36: proposed regulations excluding private foundations from the requirement to include the income portion of distributions from section 4947(a)(2) split-interest trusts in determining the distributable amount under section 4942.

? Notice 2004-12: proposed regulations and revenue procedure regarding student FICA exceptions.

? Notice 2004-30: identified abusive tax avoidance transactions (ATAT) involving S Corporations.

? Revenue Ruling 2004-6: provided guidance regarding public advocacy activities of tax-exempt organizations described in sections 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) or 501(c)(6).

Reduce the burden of compliance. Ensuring compliance and maintaining the integrity of the tax system will necessarily impose certain burdens on all taxpayers. TE/GE is committed to reducing the cost of customers interacting with the Service while also minimizing the need to do so. EO initiatives to reduce the burden and cost of compliance in 2004 included:

? Modernized e-File (MeF). MeF was successfully launched on February 23, 2004, enabling tax-exempt organizations to file their annual Forms 990, 990 EZ, 1120 POL, and the extension Form 8868 electronically.

? EO Workshops. EO offered 18 "Small and Mid-sized Exempt Organization Workshops" and five "Applying for Tax Exempt Status Workshops" to the public. In addition, EO participated in the IRS Tax Forums, offering workshops on the application process and seminars on the "Do's and Don'ts for Churches and Other 501(c)(3) Organizations" and "Tips for Completing the Form 990."

? Improved Internet Presence. EO improved the structure and accessibility of the Charities and Non-Profit pages on . For example, EO added: ? Life Cycle of a Public Charity. This guide provides easy access to IRS forms and compliance guidance for charities from inception to ongoing operations and compliance. ? CPE Articles. An index, hyperlinked to all CPE articles, helps the public research training materials. ? Published Guidance. This new page helps the reader locate EO revenue rulings, regulations, revenue procedures and notices.

? Plain-Language Publications Issued. ? Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status (Publication 4220). ? Compliance Guide for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations (Publication 4221). ? A Charity's Guide to Car Donations (Publication 4302). ? A Donor's Guide to Car Donations (Publication 4303).

Improve operational efficiency. To succeed in accomplishing its mission, TE/GE must build a qualified and satisfied workforce, and provide that workforce with access to timely and accurate customer information. In 2004, EO made significant adjustments to work practices and organizational structure aimed at improving efficiency and business results.

? Flat funding levels combined with rapid growth in the tax-exempt sector in recent years have resulted in understaffing and historically low examination levels in EO. To reverse this trend, EO hired more than 70 new revenue agents in the last quarter of the fiscal year; training for these new hires will conclude in the second quarter of FY 05.

? Exempt Organizations Compliance Unit (EOCU). The new EOCU addresses areas of noncompliance and improves the information provided on EO tax returns by using correspondence, reaching and impacting a greater number of exempt organizations than would be possible through traditional audits. Approximately 10,000 organizations were contacted in FY2004.

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? Data Analysis Unit (DAU). This new unit uses databases and information to investigate emerging compliance trends to improve the identification and selection of casework for EO.

? Team Examination Program (TEP). EO completed the migration from the Coordinated Examination Program (CEP) to the Team Examination Program (TEP). This program establishes a dedicated large case staff under one manager, allowing for a flexible examination approach and better prioritization of resources to meet the needs of complex organizations.

? Dedicated Determination Screening Group. This group leverages the knowledge base of EO's most experienced agents to improve efficiency in screening applications for exemption; by centralizing all screenings in this core group, consistency is improved and greater clerical processing savings are realized.

? Filing to Closure. A team was established to review EO's examination processes and make recommendations for improving the quality of the returns selected for examination and reducing the time from filing a return to conclusion of an examination. The recommendations of this team will be implemented in FY 2005.

? TEGE Determinations System. A team was established to review EO's determinations process and develop a system to streamline this process. This project continues in FY 2005.

Provide disclosable information to the public. EO has a unique responsibility to protect the public interest by making certain information about the tax-exempt community public. The following programs facilitate public review; such monitoring of exempt activities promotes voluntary compliance and helps to preserve the integrity of the tax system.

? Modernized E-filing. MeF addresses the need for faster and more complete data on exempt organizations, significantly reduces Form 990 submission error rates, and makes publicly disclosable EO data available sooner for both the public and law enforcement.

? Federal/State Liaison Efforts. In order to improve our services to our state partners, EO developed a new procedure to facilitate information sharing under IRC Section 6104(c).

FY2005 Priorities

In recent years, the IRS as a whole, and EO in particular, have focused on improving customer service and education as a means to improving voluntary compliance with the tax code. Significant progress has been made in the service area, and we now must balance customer service with an enforcement program to stem the growing tide of abuses within the tax-exempt community. Building a stronger enforcement presence is EO's top priority in FY2005.

Establishing an enforcement presence includes focusing on critical enforcement initiatives, as well as enhancing our limited resources through improving business processes, leveraging resources through improved coordination with other IRS operating divisions and the states, and by improving workload identification and selection systems.

EO's four critical enforcement initiatives and planned actions for FY2005 are summarized briefly as follows:

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1. Anti-Terrorism. ? EO Examinations will examine a sample of returns to determine the effectiveness of controls put in place to monitor the distribution of overseas grants and other assistance. ? EO Examinations will establish a Fraud and Financial Transaction Unit (FFTU) to address complex financial fraud cases. ? EO Rulings & Agreements (R&A) will provide training in EO law and technical assistance as needed to Criminal Investigations (CI), various Treasury and interagency governmental task forces and other governmental personnel. ? EO R&A will monitor information provided through the determination process that would help identify organizations that are potentially involved in supporting terrorist efforts. ? EO Electronic Initiatives will develop a data acquisitions strategy for EO, determining data needs to support Anti-Terrorism, ATAT, and other compliance efforts, and facilitating acquisition of data sources.

2. Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions. ? EO Examinations will lead cross-functional teams to examine and address perceived abuses by and of tax-exempt organizations, including IRC Section 509(a)(3) supporting organizations, IRC Section 501(c)(15) entities and Producer-Owned Reinsurance Companies (PORC), donor-advised funds and organizations involved in HUD programs. ? EO R&A will issue appropriate guidance on ATAT issues. It will also continue to use and refine its newly developed "Touch and Go" (TAG) program to identify cases early in the determination process that may involve abusive transactions, and to ensure consistent application of tax law.

3. Credit Counseling. ? EO examination activity, initiated in FY 2004 and covering over half of the gross receipts of this market segment, will continue into FY 2005 in coordination with state Attorney General offices, the Federal Trade Commission and other operating divisions. ? EO R&A will rigorously review applications from consumer credit organizations seeking exempt status and continue to provide technical expertise to EO Examinations for the Credit Counseling Compliance Project.

4. Excessive Compensation. ? The Tax Exempt Compensation Enforcement Project will continue, with approximately 2,000 compliance check letters sent, and examinations of selected returns completed, by year-end. ? Coordination with SB/SE and LMSB will ensure that related income tax return issues are dealt with appropriately.

In addition to, and in support of, the specific activities described above, EO will engage in a coordinated, cross-functional effort to improve compliance through a strengthened enforcement

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presence, enhanced data collection and screening, and more complete, targeted communications with our partners and customers.

? EO Examinations. In FY 2005, EO Examinations will focus on the four critical initiatives stated above: anti-terrorism, emerging abusive tax avoidance issues, credit counseling and excessive executive compensation, and will continue to work other important cases and projects with the balance of its resources. In addition, EO Examinations will finalize implementation of the Data Analysis Unit (DAU), develop new projects for the Exempt Organizations Compliance Unit (EOCU) and implement the Fraud and Financial Transaction Unit (FFTU).

? Rulings & Agreements. FY 2005 activities will reflect enhanced coordination between EO Examinations and R&A in support of the enforcement priority. The new Dedicated Determinations Screening Group will improve screening of applications for exemption, allowing for closer scrutiny of applications by organizations with a high risk of noncompliance, such as credit counseling organizations, and identification of promoters of tax avoidance schemes and organizations that inappropriately use their tax-advantaged status for personal gain, earlier in the application process.

? Electronic Initiatives. EO Electronic Initiatives will place emphasis on expanding the Modernized e-File Program to include Forms 990-PF and 990-T and the development of an Interactive Form 1023 (aka "Cyber Assistant"), which will allow exempt organizations to fulfill their filing and public disclosure requirements more quickly and easily.

? Customer Education & Outreach. In addition to complementing our enforcement efforts, education and outreach to exempt organizations and tax professionals regarding their reporting and tax responsibilities continues to be a priority. EO CE&O will seek to expand the reach of its customer education programs by establishing stronger relationships with nonprofit and tax practitioner trade associations, improving our online presence and developing new outreach tools, such as an e-mail listserve, while continuing to invest in the "plain language" publications, workshop and speaker programs.

? Forms Revision. Through the leadership of EO R&A, EO will implement significant form revisions in FY 2005. The revised Application for Recognition of Exemption (Form 1023) is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of FY 2005. The new form, including a checklist that pinpoints the basic qualification requirements and improved schedules, will help ensure organizations seeking exemption meet all requirements before exempt status is approved and facilitate a smoother, more efficient process for reviewing applications for exemption. Similar changes will be considered for Form 1024.

The emphasis on enforcement in FY 2005 will help to stem the proliferation of abuses in the taxexempt community and promote voluntary compliance. However, enforcement must be balanced with customer service, including streamlined business practices, enhanced use of automation tools and timely guidance.

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EO's balanced approach encompasses service and enforcement, guidance, outreach and education to improve voluntary compliance with tax-exempt law. In the coming months, EO will continue to streamline our business operations to improve efficiency and results, establish stronger relationships with the federal, state and local regulatory bodies that oversee the taxexempt sector, and improve the internal governance of the sector. Improving our ability to identify trends and abuses earlier in the process will support our enforcement efforts, while reducing the burden of compliance by helping us to better target our examination resources. Sincerely, Martha Sullivan Director Exempt Organizations

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FY 2005 EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS

(EO) IMPLEMENTING

GUIDELINES

The Mission of Exempt Organizations is to provide Exempt Organizations customers top quality service by helping them to understand and comply with applicable tax laws, and to protect the public interest by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

November 2004

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CONTENTS

EO Examinations ................................................................................. page 9

EO Rulings & Agreements ..................................................................... page 16

EO Electronic Initiatives ........................................................................ page 21

EO Customer Education & Outreach ........................................................ page 24

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