The IRS has announced that it will no longer require a 501(c) organization to file a new application for exemption in many cases if it changes its form of entity or its state of organization. The new rules apply to any organization exempt under 501(c), not just to charities under 501(c)(3). (Rev. Proc. 2018-15.) 

The Tax Court has imposed first and second tier excess benefit taxes on the CEO of The Association for Honest Attorneys, who used the organization’s money for personal purchases over a three-year period.  The total amount for the three-year period is more than $88,000.

A charitable organization cannot overturn an arbitration award to pay damages on the ground that payment would improperly redirect restricted charitable contributions for use contrary to the donors' intent, an appellate court in New York has ruled. 

In an unusually scant opinion, the Court does not fully describe the situation, but it appears that the charity was ordered to pay “expectation damages sufficient to restore” the plaintiff “to the position it would have been in” if the charity had performed as promised under an agreement. 

A Boy Scout Council in California has been denied interest on distributions from a charitable lead trust that were withheld during a dispute over its entitlement to the funds.  An appellate court in California has affirmed a trial court decision denying the payments.

Lowell Patton established the Patton Family Lead Trust in February, 2003.  It was intended to provide income to five beneficiary charities for 15 years, with the remainder to be distributed to three family members.  The Ventura County Council of the Boy Scouts was one of the income beneficiaries.

One politically conservative nonprofit organization can bar another from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (“CPAC”) without violating antitrust laws, a federal District Court has ruled, even if the barred organization is unable to increase its prestige, goodwill, and obtain donations.  The federal District Court in Florida has held that the action is not a restraint on “trade or commerce” governed by the Sherman Act.

The commissions paid to a hospital association by vendors providing debt collection and group purchasing services to its members are subject to unrelated business income tax, the Tax Court has ruled.  They are not considered substantially related to the exempt purpose of the association and are not excluded from unrelated business income either as “royalties” or as activities carried on primarily “for the convenience” of its members.

The former CEO of two nonprofit corporations affiliated with the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute has been denied an advancement of legal fees to defend against criminal charges resulting from the corporations’ procurement practices.  An appellate court in New York has affirmed a trial court order denying payment.