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IRS Picks Society Member to Contribute Nonprofit Expertise

By Kate Prouty

This month Julie Floch, an active player on the Society’s Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee, dives into work on the Internal Revenue Service’s relatively new Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). The three-year-old committee, composed of external stakeholders, like Floch, in the tax-exempt and government entities communities, demonstrates the IRS’ push to consult with industry experts who can give the Service practical advice on how to alleviate taxpayer burdens.

Floch calls the ACT “a true working committee,” which, by tackling long-term projects, like proposing new legislation, in addition to its quarterly meetings, will have a tangible effect on the communities it aims to serve.

The committee comprises 18 individuals who were selected based on their expertise in one of five specialized areas: exempt organizations; employee plans; federal, state and local governments; tax-exempt bonds; and Indian tribal governments. Floch joins one other new and four existing members in representing exempt organizations.

According to Floch, working on the committee presents an “opportunity to communicate to the IRS some of the very real concerns that clients and practitioners in New York state have.” She cited Form 990 as one issue, among several, that the nonprofit community is eager to have addressed. Form 990 is an annual information return that must be filed each year with the IRS by organizations exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and whose annual receipts are “normally” more than $25,000 a year. The Service is planning to overhaul the form.

The committee has a “give-and-take” nature, said Floch, who feels it will truly benefit all parties involved. In theory, the ACT allows experienced nonprofit professionals to accurately represent the nonprofit community’s needs while also allowing the IRS to make better-informed decisions based on those experts’ feedback.

Floch feels the experience she’s gleaned from working on Society committees—she has been chair of the Not-for-Profit Organizations, Public Relations, and Cooperation with Financial Media committees—has helped her prepare for the commitment the IRS requires of its ACT members, and may even have helped her land the committee position.

The IRS selected Floch, and the seven other newly appointed ACT members (representing Delaware, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington, D.C.), through an application and interview process. Floch and the others, along with the 10 returning committee members, assume their duties at the committee’s next meeting, June 7–9, in Washington, D.C.

The committee will meet about four times a year and will also work on projects offline, according to Floch, who will serve for a two-year term.