Waterhouse-Wilson on LLC’s and the Excess Business Holdings Tax

Elaine Waterhouse-Wilson’s recent article deals with the excess business holdings tax (IRC 4943) as it relates to ownerships in LLC’s.  Here is the abstract:

How much should charity and business intersect? Recent trends point toward a growing entanglement between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, as evidenced by the growth of the social enterprise movement. The issue of the entanglement of business and charity is, however, not new; it was one of the primary concerns behind the enactment of the private foundation excise taxes in 1969, including the excess business holding excise tax of Code Section 4943. While Code Section 4943 has changed little since its original enactment, the business and investment world has changed substantially, specifically including the introduction and growth of the LLC as a business entity. This Article looks at the current treatment of LLCs under Code Section 4943 and considers various options for incorporating LLCs into the statutory framework. It then evaluates these options in light of the original concerns about the interaction between business and charity voiced in the debate over the 1969 excise taxes and echoed today in the evaluation of social enterprise as a viable means of accomplishing charitable goals. The article concludes with a recommendation for change to Code Section 4943 that would incorporate LLCs specifically, provides administrative clarity, minimize the possibility of abuse, and allowing for modern investment practices and innovation.

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