Religious organization can’t stop bank subpoenas
A nonprofit religious organization, which claimed “church” status during an Internal Revenue Service inquiry about possible excess benefit transactions, is unable to stop IRS subpoenas for financial records held by eight banks. A federal District Court in South Carolina has rejected the group’s efforts to prevent the banks from providing the information.
Lawyer not liable to unnamed beneficiaries of will
Reversing a decision by a state appellate court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that a lawyer cannot be liable for legal malpractice to potential third-party beneficiaries of a decedent’s estate when the potential beneficiaries have not been named in testamentary documents actually executed by the decedent.
Don’t mess with charity volunteers
That’s what the general manager of a car dealership in Savannah, GA, has learned the hard way.
Deduction denied for lack of proper acknowledgment
A claim for a $338,000 charitable contribution deduction for the gift of a 50% interest in an airplane has been denied by the Tax Court because it was not accompanied by a statutorily compliant contemporaneous written acknowledgment.
PSU Trustees May Recover Costs Of Suit for Right to Review Records
Recovery permitted by expense reimbursement policy and indemnification clause in bylaws
Alumni trustees of Penn State University may recover the litigation costs of their successful suit to gain access to “source materials” of the Freeh Report on the Jerry Sandusky situation, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has held.
Court says PILOT payments are not unconstitutional
The Florida Supreme Court, accepting a question certified by the state Court of Appeal, has held that an agreement by a charitable organization to make payments in lieu of taxes (“PILOTs”) to a local municipality is not unconstitutional or unenforceable. The Court of Appeal had ruled otherwise (See Nonprofit Issues, April 2015.) and the Supreme Court has reversed.
“Concerned” Individuals Lack Standing To Force Treasury Department Investigation
Plaintiffs seek revocation of tax-exempt status of organizations allegedly assisting settlements in West Bank
The federal District Court in the District of Columbia has ruled that a group of “individuals sharing mutual concerns” about Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have no standing to sue the Treasury Department to force it to investigate about 200 501(c)(3) organizations and revoke their exemptions where appropriate. The District Court followed a long line of cases denying standing where the activity complained of has only a tenuous relationship to the injury complained about and where the remedy requested would not redress the injury.