On October 23, 2019, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, signed legislation incorporating the federal Johnson Amendment into New York law. As previously described, the Johnson Amendment denies tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) to (and imposes excise taxes on) any organization that engages in political campaign activities. The new legislation amended section 1116 of New York Tax Law, which will now deny tax-exempt status for N.Y tax purposes to any organization that engages in political campaign activities, either on behalf or in opposition of any candidate for public office.

Proskauer’s 24th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held on Wednesday, October 31 and discussed timely topics and best practices specifically tailored to the not-for-profit community.

The seminar discussed:

  • Protect Yourself: A Practical Guide to Strategic Risk Management and Insurance
  • How to Solicit a Donor in Fifteen Minutes: The

…

On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in Gaylor v. Mnuchin that the tax exemption for “ministers of the gospel” (defined below) under Section 107(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) does not violate the Establishment Clause[1] of the First Amendment…

As we have previously discussed, the 2017 tax reform act created a new excise tax under section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code that will affect many tax-exempt employers.  The tax is 21% of certain compensation and can be triggered if an employee receives more than $1 million of…

On December 31, 2018, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”), which provides interim guidance under Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Very generally, Section 4960 imposes a 21% excise tax on certain tax-exempt entities (and certain related…

December 10, 2018 saw significant activity with respect to Section 512(a)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), which requires tax-exempt employers to increase their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) by amounts paid or incurred for qualified transportation fringe benefits provided to employees, including the provision of parking and public…

Posted in IRS

Last week, the IRS released Notice 2018-95 to provide transition relief to 403(b) plans that improperly excluded certain employees.  Specifically, Notice 2018-95 targets employers that may have erroneously excluded part-time employees from eligibility to make elective deferral when the employees should have been eligible to participate under the “once-in-always-in” requirement…

Posted in IRS

Proskauer’s 23rd Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held on Wednesday, October 31.

The Seminar discussed:

  • Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era
  • Taxing Times for Tax-Exempt Organizations: The Impact of Tax Reform on Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits for Tax Exempt Organizations
  • Recent, Spooky Tax Changes Affecting the UBTI

…