The Non-Profit, the Tanning Booth, and the Mercedes-Benz.
No, this is not an attempt to parody C.S. Lewis by drawing together three disparate items into an allegorical children's story about sacrifice. I work for non-profits, the first of the items above, and like all people and organizations, non-profits have to file a tax return. For a 501(c)(3), the tax return is the IRS Form 990, in which the organization reports its income, expenses, and activities for the year. Our auditor draws up our Form 990 as part of the annual audit. I review the form to make certain all of our answers make sense, the numbers are reported correctly, and that all the board members' names are spelled correctly. This year, I noticed an interesting question: Tanning Booths? Non-profits? A 501(c)(3) is tax-exempt because it carries out worthwhile artistic, educational, or social programs. I know there are a lot of strange things going on in creating the tax code. But how do tanning booths mix with most non-profi...