Former Director Owens: Greater IRS Oversight Needed For Tax-Exempt Organizations

    Former Director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division, Marcus S. Owens has been
critical of the IRS’s treatment of filing requirements for exempt organization.
Recent data suggests significant growth in the nation’s nonprofit sector.
Despite this trend, according to Owens, the IRS has taken a very permissive
approach to the oversight of organizations filing for tax-exempt status—an
approach that he predicts could be problematic. Owens argues that the lack of
oversight is “setting the stage for a real scandal down the road.”

    Proposed solutions include increasing funding for the Exempt Organizations Division, requiring nonprofits to file online, and compiling a more accessible online database. Will these solutions help ameliorate the problem? Is there even a problem in the first place? Read more here

DAB