The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) quietly added two new questions and answers regarding virtual currency donations to its answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Virtual Currency Transactions (FAQs) on December 26, 2019. The two new answers address the responsibilities of charitable organizations when accepting donations of virtual currency, including
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Brooklyn Supreme Court Recognizes Private Right of Action for Not-for-Profit Employees under New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act Whistleblower Policy Requirement
Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (“NPCL”) § 715-b, enacted as part of the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act (covered here and here), requires New York not-for-profit corporations with 20 or more employees and annual revenue in excess of $1 million to adopt whistleblower policies “to protect from retaliation persons who report suspected improper conduct.” Although the statute does not expressly authorize suits by whistleblowers, in Pietra v. Poly Prep Country Day School, No. 506586/2015 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Kings Cty. October 1, 2016), acting Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Loren Baily-Schiffman held that a former employee of Poly Prep Country Day School (the “School”), a New York not-for-profit corporation, had a private action against the School to recover damages resulting from the School’s alleged failure to adopt a whistleblower policy in accordance with NPCL § 715-b.
Parsonage: Are Clerics Employees or Self-Employed?
Parsonage is a seemingly innocuous five line tax benefit in the Code. This “innocent” provision of the Code, Section 107, appears to have befuddled many ministers and their professional advisors, however.
About 90 years ago, Congress promulgated an exclusion from income for the rental value of the housing provided to a “minister of the gospel,” which includes priests, rabbis, imams and any other duly ordained, commissioned or licensed member of the clergy. Alternatively, the minister can exclude the rental allowance paid as part of compensation, to the extent actually used as rent or other costs of home ownership. Since 2002, the allowance is capped at fair rental value, including furnishings and appurtenances (such as a garage), plus the cost of utilities.
While there are IRS publications that explain the tax nuances of parsonage (e.g., Publication 517 and The Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations), the unusual tax treatment of ministers can still be very confusing.