Re: [gentoo-nfp] Re: [gentoo-project] Questions for Gentoo Council nominees: Gentoo Foundation - Treasurer Response!

[Matthew Thode]

On 19-07-03 09:08:14, Rich Freeman wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 8:56 AM Michał Górny <mgorny@g.o> wrote:
> >
> > Are you aware if the fee is going to be the same if we
> > go for proper non-profit?
>
> Do you mean 501c3 by "proper non-profit?"  Or some other tax-exempt status?
>
> I think most around here have abandoned all hope of ever running our
> own 501c3.  A number don't even think we should try, and a 501c3 is
> hard enough to get approved if you have a professional board all
> towing the party line.  If you get people making public statements
> like we ought to be a trade association (which is non-exempt) it would
> be even harder.
>
> However, I imagine most CPAs would charge more for a tax-exempt org as
> there is MUCH more scrutiny on their operations.  I'd also argue that
> we would need to be spending more on compliance in general or
> consulting ad-hoc with professionals to not run afoul of the law.
>
> If you meant a non-profit that isn't tax-exempt then I don't see why
> their fees would be any different, but there really isn't any big tax
> benefit to Gentoo to having one status or another as far as I can
> tell.  The IRS taxes non-profits the same as for-profit companies if
> they aren't tax-exempt.  It is the exempt status that comes with all
> the rules and scrutiny.
>
> Usually in the US when people say "non-profit" they tend to mean a
> tax-exempt status like 501c3, but these are of course not the only
> sorts of non-profit companies.  The US National Football League (the
> kind where you usually don't hit the ball with your foot) is
> non-profit, but definitely not tax-exempt, and I can only imagine what
> their revenues are like.
>

The fees remain the same for a c3 (1500 per year).  We've talked to the
Accounting firm about our options in attaining c3 status.  There are a
couple of ways we could go about it.  Filing fee remains the same (~1k
iirc) for all options.

1. fix all back taxes (10 years) then refile, this would cost 9k more
for the back taxes alone (4 years was recently approved).

2. close the foundation and reform / refile as a c3.  Old foundation
donates all money to the new foundation.  This is what was suggested for
us to do, would be cheaper and give us both a fresh start, and would
give us the best chance of attaining c3 status.

3. Like 2, but with an umbrella (not something that's actively being
pursued).  If we wish to go down this route, attaining (2) would likely
increase the chances of an umbrella taking us in.


Personally I like option 2 or possibly 3 (depending on details).

-- 
Matthew Thode (prometheanfire)