Meghan Biss Comments on EO Disclosure Rule in Tax Notes

A vocal Senate opponent of the IRS’s decision to lift a donor disclosure rule for many nonprofits is hailing a court order that has reinstated the requirement for now.

. . .

Invalid Guidance

The court order means EOs can no longer rely on the revenue procedure when deciding whether to withhold the names and addresses of their donors from the IRS, noted Meghan R. Biss of Caplin & Drysdale.

“If somebody filed their [IRS information return] in May and didn’t put in the donor names and addresses pursuant to the IRS guidance, that was fine; they had the ability to rely on [the guidance] at that time,” Biss told Tax Notes. “Now we have a court that has invalidated that guidance.”

The IRS could issue new guidance that fulfills the APA requirement by offering the public an opportunity to comment and that organizations could rely on while final rules are developed, Biss said.

Organizations can also request an automatic six-month extension to file their information returns, during which they could see, for example, whether the IRS appeals the case or issues other guidance, Biss said.

For the full article, please visit Tax Notes’ website (subscription required).