WESTSIDE — Failure to file Internal Revenue Service Form 990 has cost several local non-profits their tax exempt status, with the Gentry Lions Club being the most recent organization to have its IRS tax-exempt status automatically revoked, according to the IRS website.
The Lions Club 501(c)(4) status was automatically revoked on Nov. 15, 2011, according to the IRS website, but the revocation was not posted until July 9 of this year.
According to the IRS website, "The federal tax exemption of [the Lions Club] was automatically revoked for its failure to filea Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years. The information listed ... is historical; it is current as of the organization's effective date of automatic revocation. The information is not necessarily current as of today's date. Nor does this automatic revocation necessarily reflect the organization's tax-exempt or non-exempt status. The organization may have applied to the IRS for recognition of exemption and been recognized by the IRS as taxexempt after its effective date of automatic revocation."
Other organizations listed as revoked in Gentry include American Legion 159 - 501(c)(19), revoked May 15, 2010; Gentry Fine Arts Society - 501(c)(3), revoked Nov.15, 2010; Gentry Volunteer Fire Department - 501(c)(3), revoked May 15, 2010; Gentry Band Booster Club - 501(c)(3), revoked Nov. 15, 2010; Veterans of Foreign Wars - 501(c)(19), revoked May 15, 2011; Gentry Garden Club - 501(c)(3), revoked May 15, 2010; Pioneer Booster Club - 501(c)(3), revoked Jan. 15, 2011; and Chorale of the Ozarks - 501(c)(3), revoked May 15, 2010.
It should be noted that the Gentry Band Booster Club is also currently listed as an exempt charitable organization under a new employer identification number. The Gentry Volunteer Fire Department and the Gentry Lions Club are both working to regain their tax-exempt status.
Other local organizations automatically revoked according to the IRS website include the following: Gravette Summer Baseball League - 501(c)(3), revoked May 15, 2010; Friends of Gravette Medical Center - 501(c)(3), revoked May 15, 2010; Gravette Library Foundation Inc. - 501(c)(3), revoked Dec. 15, 2010; Decatur Summer Sports - 501(c)(3), revoked Jan. 15, 2011; Sulphur Springs Boxing Club Inc. - 501(c)(4), revoked May 15, 2010.
It should be noted that some of the organizations revoked may no longer be in existence and, for that reason, did not file IRS Form 990. Others may be in the process of applying to regain their tax-exempt status.
News, Pages 1 on 07/18/2012