> What is even going on that allowed these to be nonprofits
They are operating as non-profits, as defined by the IRS code and the law?
"Athletic associations" for example includes your all your local youth sports clubs. There's a lot of activities that can be done for a charitable purpose that may be organized under 501(c)(3) and similar regulations.
Yeah a Credit Union is like a bank, but it's not a bank. It's not operated for profit.
All but the smallest non-profits all have to file an annual Form 990 which is mostly public. You can go look them up, if you're wondering what they do and how they spend their money.
If they have income that is not directly related to their charitable purpose, they are supposed to pay tax on that. According to TFA that is weakly enforced, and while that may need fixing we need to be careful that we don't throw out the baby wth the bathwater.
What is the baby here though? What's the benefit to having all these entities be tax-exempt? Would it really be so bad for the likes of youth sport clubs to pay normal taxes on their (presumably tiny) profits?
They are operating as non-profits, as defined by the IRS code and the law?
"Athletic associations" for example includes your all your local youth sports clubs. There's a lot of activities that can be done for a charitable purpose that may be organized under 501(c)(3) and similar regulations.
Yeah a Credit Union is like a bank, but it's not a bank. It's not operated for profit.
All but the smallest non-profits all have to file an annual Form 990 which is mostly public. You can go look them up, if you're wondering what they do and how they spend their money.
If they have income that is not directly related to their charitable purpose, they are supposed to pay tax on that. According to TFA that is weakly enforced, and while that may need fixing we need to be careful that we don't throw out the baby wth the bathwater.