The IRS released the final Form 990 for 2011, with most of the significant changes applying to tax-exempt organizations with joint ventures and investment partnerships; foreign activities or investments; and hospitals.

A proposed rule by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) would relax the long-standing prohibition on federal government employees serving on association and nonprofit boards. If adopted, the rule would give agencies their own discretion to create rules for allowing employees to serve in their official capacity on nonprofit boards and committees. 

The Senate is set to vote this week on amendments that would repeal the expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements that are unpopular with many associations and small businesses. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he will allow votes on two amendments as part of consideration of a small business reauthorization act (S. 493). The first amendment, offered by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE), is identical to the 1099 repeal bill passed by the House. The second amendment, sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) disallows the offsets in Johann’s bill if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines the provision would reduce the number of insured individuals or raise insurance premiums. 

 The U.S. meetings industry contributes $907 billion to the U.S. economy, generating 6.3 million jobs and providing $64 billion in federal and $46 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to a study released by PricewaterhouseCoopers and an alliance of 14 meetings industry organizations.

Sponsors of the study said that the nearly $1 trillion figure was a conservative estimate because the study was conducted in 2009 during a historic low point in meetings industry revenue.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) on Thursday introduced HR 705, a 1099 repeal bill that would be fully paid for and would closely resemble the repeal language introduced by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) as part of the Senate’s FAA reauthorization bill last week. Camp said Ways and Means would likely take up the legislation within the next two weeks.

A new report based on the findings from an online survey of 260 congressional staff on their opinions and practices related to constituent communications, including social media, was released last week by The Partnership for a More Perfect Union, a project of the Congressional Management Foundation. The survey was conducted between October 12 and December 13, 2010. The key findings are...

The IRS released its work plan in mid-December indicating that it intends to expand its focus on non-profits organizations to look at issues including political activity, inurement and the extent of compliance with the requirements for tax exemption by organizations that self-identify.

Edward J. Castellani, JD, CPA of the Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap, P.C. law firm shared with MSAE recently that the Small Business "Jobs and Lending" Bill, signed into law in late September, includes numerous provisions that will significantly improve access to credit for many small and mid sized businesses.

During a press conference last week, President Obama conceded that new Form 1099 reporting requirements are “burdensome” and vowed to work on a legislative fix.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a draft of the core Form 990 for 2010 while cautioning that the form is subject to change and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval.
 

Roughly a third (34%) of the public goes to online sources for news. This is on par with radio, and slightly higher than daily newspapers. And when cell phones, email, social networks and podcasts are added in, 44% of Americans say they got news through one or more internet or mobile digital source. Are you providing news to your members in the way they want to receive it?

The IRS released this week their draft version of the form that small businesses and tax-exempt organizations will use to calculate the small business health care tax credit when they file returns next year. The draft of form 8941 and instructions are on the IRS website.


 

Faced with plummeting mail volume and increased use of online bill-paying and other transactions, the Postal Service announced proposed rate changes that could increase the price of a first-class stamp by 2 cents to 46 cents.

A majority of U.S. House members agreed last week that new Form 1099 reporting requirements, as written in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, were onerous for small businesses and tax-exempt organizations.