Doomsday for Charites

We have talked about the difficulty that churches would have if the government were to start pulling the 501(c) designation....which allows them to collect tax deductible dollars from their contributors, but also allows them to not pay ANY taxes...many times excluding them from Federal, State and Local property taxes.

Of course, this will probably manifest itself using some type of "anti-hate speech" billy-club that the Federal Government will wield. "If this church is caught saying that gays, adulterers, fornicators, bestiality proponents, etc... are sinful....this will be considered HATE SPEECH...and your charitable tax benefits WILL BE REVOKED!"

Today in the Star Tribune, we have this headline;
Charities face 'doomsday': Loss of tax-exempt status

More than 7,000 Minnesota nonprofits, and as many as 400,000 nationwide, are slated to lose their tax-exempt status next week -- an event being dubbed "doomsday."
At midnight May 15, any group that hasn't filed a new tax form will lose the tax break that is the lifeblood of most small nonprofits. It allows them to raise money tax-free and lets the public write off donations to them.

For decades, nonprofits that raised less than $25,000 a year didn't have to file tax returns. Thousands apparently don't have a clue that changed in 2006.
The affected nonprofits span the state and include well-known names. Athletic leagues. Boy Scout chapters. Labor unions. Social service groups. More than 50 chapters each of the Lions Club, Knights of Columbus, American Legion and other fraternal groups.

"This could be the largest loss of organizations in the last 80 years," said Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. "We're trying to get the word out."

See it here; http://www.startribune.com/politics/92926779.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

So this may be starting in a small way with some of these smaller charities...but it could be another wake up call that the government is going to start taking a close look at charities.