[Noisebridge-discuss] 2010 taxes

[Sai]

FWIW, formally at least, value here is defined as "market value", as
in whatever someone off the street would have to pay for the
equivalent.

I think the easiest formalism of that is to calculate the actual NB
rent per shelf - i.e. rent for the whole space * %age of space devoted
to shelves * %age of shelf space used.

There are however also abstract values, like voting rights. That's a
valuable thing. How valuable, in $? Who knows. This sort of thing
isn't well defined.

- Sai

On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 10:54 AM, John E <neurofog at gmail.com> wrote:
> Should we assign value to "member shelves"? eg. $5/m suggested donation, so
> that the other $35-$75 becomes tax deductible.
> It has been apparent to me that there isn't 1:1 relationship between shelves
> and being a paying member.
> Regards,
> John
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Jared Dunne <jareddunne at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I've heard it mentioned before that NB dues are not tax-deductible, so I
>> decided to look into this more.  I think Jacob's accountant is on to
>> something.
>>
>> I found this publication from the IRS regarding "Charitable
>> Contributions":
>> http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
>>
>> If you look on Page 4 under "Contributions You Can Deduct":
>> ---Start of Excerpt--
>> Membership fees or dues. You may be able
>> to deduct membership fees or dues you pay to a
>> qualified organization. However, you can deduct
>> only the amount that is more than the value of
>> the benefits you receive. You cannot deduct
>> dues, fees, or assessments paid to country
>> clubs and other social organizations. They are
>> not qualified organizations.
>> ---End of Excerpt--
>>
>> Noisebridge's 501(c)(3) status makes them a "qualified organization". So
>> the question then hinges on quantifying the "value" of membership.  While
>> noisebridge itself might bring a tremendous value to your life, I believe
>> there is no montetary value associated with the benefits of being a proper
>> member.  The only actual benefit of membership of which I know is the right
>> to participate in the consensus process.  With members receiving no monetary
>> benefit from their dues, they are able to deduct the entirety of their
>> dues.
>>
>> Can anyone provide anything definitive that would contradict this?
>>
>> If you are still fearing the tax man, browse through that publication
>> more.  The more I read it the more confident I became that NB dues and
>> donations should be 100% deductible given its status.  Specifically I'd
>> recommend reading the entire section titled "Contributions From Which You
>> Benefit" which starts on Page 3 of the Publication.
>>
>> Jared-
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:59 PM, Jason Dusek <jason.dusek at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 05:36, Dr. Jesus <j at hug.gs> wrote:
>> >> On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:27 PM, Jacob Appelbaum <jacob at appelbaum.net>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> > On 01/12/2011 09:01 PM, Dr. Jesus wrote:
>> >> > > Who's deducting their membership dues from their taxes?
>> >> > >  My accountant says as long as I'm not receiving any value
>> >> > > from my membership then I can deduct the full amount, but
>> >> > > I don't want to find out the hard way that there's a catch
>> >> > > I didn't think of.
>> >> >
>> >> > I do not believe this to be true unless any membership fees
>> >> > count.  Membership fees are not a donation.
>> >>
>> >> Deductibility seems to hinge on whether value is being
>> >> obtained in exchange for the dues, not whether they are a
>> >> donation.  As far as I can tell, my membership dues don't buy
>> >> me anything I wouldn't get as a non member, so I'm not
>> >> obtaining any real value and the dues should be deductible.
>> >
>> >  This is complex and we could have a very interesting
>> >  discussion about it.
>> >
>> >  Recently, I donated to the San Francisco Ballet. I suddenly
>> >  have the privilege of attending certain recitals (not
>> >  performances) and may even extend this privilege to a friend.
>> >  Is this value or not? It is certainly a privilege reserved for
>> >  only a few people. Whereas, everything at Noisebridge is open
>> >  to the public.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Jason Dusek
>> > Linux User #510144 | http://counter.li.org/
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>> >
>>
>>
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