Compliance June 7, 2011

IRS Seeking Comments on Revised Form 990

June 7, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Internal Revenue Service is seeking public comment on transitional issues and frequently asked questions involving the redesigned Form 990. 
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Announcement 2011-36 noted that the IRS extensively redesigned Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, for tax year 2008 to promote tax compliance and increase transparency.  

The major reconstruction of the Form is complete, but the IRS continues to refine the Form in response to questions and comments from the public. The agency has made many revisions to the 2009 and 2010 Forms 990, schedules, and instructions, mostly corrections and clarifications to make the Form easier to understand and complete, and it plans to make further revisions.  

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The IRS invites public input on the following issues. 

  • Activity codes; 
  • Reporting compensation to management companies and leasing companies owned or controlled by directors, officers, trustees, or key employees; 
  • Thresholds for reporting compensation to key employees, highest compensated employees, independent contractors, and former officers, directors, trustees, and key employees; 
  • Reporting revenue from governmental units; 
  • Net asset reconciliation; 
  • Reporting on audited financial statements; 
  • Names and EINs of foreign grantees; 
  • Indirect foreign expenditures; 
  • Reporting bank deposits as loans or business transactions on Schedule L; 
  • Reporting of component parts of community trusts on Form 990-series returns; and 
  • Scope of related organization reporting on Schedule R. 

 

Announcement 2011-36 is at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-11-36.pdf.
Benefits June 6, 2011

Abuse Shelter Settles Retaliation Suit

June 6, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Columbia, Missouri, shelter for women who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse has agreed to pay $103,000 to settle a lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for retaliating against employees for reporting sexual harassment by the shelter’s executive director.
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According to the EEOC’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri (Civil Action No. 2:10-4216), Nancy Gause and Tracie Lawson, who were co-directors of the shelter at the time, alerted board of directors members that Executive Director Leigh Voltmer had touched staff members inappropriately on several occasions. Voltmer was the highest-ranking employee at the shelter. Gause said she was complaining on behalf of staff members whom she supervised. 

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An EEOC news release said less than two weeks after making the complaint, Gause was terminated and Lawson was demoted and her salary was cut. Both women had received positive feedback regarding their performance during their tenure as employees, but were terminated without warning, allegedly for poor performance. Following the board’s actions, other employees came forward and complained about a hostile environment created by Voltmer.

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