[EMAIL PROTECTED] said:
> I don't understand. I thought one of the reasons for seeking (c)(3) status
> was so that contributions would be tax-deductible. ??
Sure, *if* you can get 501(c)3 status. What I am telling you is that several
tax-lawyers I know are telling me that 501(c)3 status is becoming very hard
to get.
USENIX, as non-political and "benevolent" as it is, might not be able to get
501(c)3 status if they were to apply today.
SAGE (when it was trying to break off from USENIX) had to apply for a 501(c)6.
Let's do this in stages (and I am doing this loosely, and IANAL):
o GNHLUG as it is today is an amorphous blob. There is no one "in charge"
officially, there is no one to write a check to, there is no one "responsible"
in any way. Despite this we patter on, because there are enough good souls
that raise their hands to do things.
o incorporation - gives you an entity that companies can interact with, but
that entity can be profit-making, not-for-profit or non-profit. The
corporation (versus the solely-owned proprietorship or partnership) gives
the "hand-raisers" a certain legal insulation and also allows the
organization to
live beyond the owner's lives (or interests). As much as I hate the overhead
involved, for GNHLUG to meet its "goals" (whatever they are) it may have
to incorporate.
Once we do incorporate, then we have these choices:
o profit-making we all know about and they pay taxes
o not-for-profit, probably would not have to pay taxes, but has to be
very
careful not to have money that spans the tax year
o non-profit - can have money in the bank that spans tax years (albeit
just
a certain percentage of revenues
501(c)3 - benevolent, religious, educational, can't lobby
(but can influence)
501(c)6 - membership, lobbyist
501(c)3 is most valuable from certain tax standpoints, since it allows people
to donate money to it without being members. On the other hand they are
more limited to what they can do with the money in a lot of ways.
501(c)6 is still valuable, since it allows you to collect monies and
do business WITHOUT having to pay taxes. It also allows membership fees (in
certain cases) to be deducted, and would give a corporate entity the tax
umbrella.
md
--
Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director Linux International(R)
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 80 Amherst St.
Voice: +1.603.672.4557 Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A.
WWW: http://www.li.org
Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association
(R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries.
(R)Linux International is a registered trademark in the USA used pursuant
to a license from Linux Mark Institute, authorized licensor of Linus
Torvalds, owner of the Linux trademark on a worldwide basis
(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the USA and other
countries.
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