Non-profit organizations which are exempt from income tax under 501(a) are subject to tax on unrelated business income. 501(b), 511. Unrelated business income is gross income derived by any organization from any unrelated trade or business, regularly carried on by it, less the deductions allowed. 512. An unrelated trade or business is a trade or business which is not substantially related (aside from the need of such organization for income or funds) to the purpose of the organization. 513. However, unrelated trade or business does not include a trade or business where substantially all the work is performed for the organization without compensation. 513(a)(1). See Rev. Rul. 75-201, 1975-1 CB 164.

The sale of advertising in a publication published by an exempt organization is an unrelated trade or business when the advertising activity is regularly carried on. Reg. 1.512(a)-1(f)(1). See also Rev. Rul. 73-424, 1973-2 CB 190.

Courts have held advertising revenue not to constitute unrelated business income in some circumstances. For example, in National Collegiate Athletic Assn. V. Comm., (1990, CA10) 66 AFTR 2d 90-5602, 914 F.2d 1417, 90-2USTC 50513, revg (1989) 92 TC 456, advertising revenue received by the NCAA from the sale of programs of its annually sponsored championship tournament was not unrelated business income where the tournament lasted less than three weeks and occurred only once a year.

IRS Chief Counsel strongly disagrees with the Tenth circuit. The IRS argues the state court should have taken into account the time spent soliciting the advertisements and preparing the advertising for publication. IRS announced it will continue to litigate the issue in appropriate cases. Action on Decision 1991-015, 7/3/91.

IRS distinguished NCAA where a state university received income from advertising placed in its football souvenir programs. Here, a significant time span was involved over which the activities were conducted. The football season lasted three months and the work in setting up the programs and soliciting adverting took even longer. IRS letter ruling 9137002.

Assuming that the journal is published periodically throughout the year, an exempt organization should not rely on National Collegiate Athletic Assn. The periodic publishing and on going solicitation efforts will likely constitute a unrelated business regularly carried on. See 512.

The court also held advertising revenue does not constitute unrelated business income in US v. American College of Physicians, (1986 S.Ct). In American College of Physicians, the court found that the advertising business contributes importantly to the universitys education program through the training of students.

Also, advertising revenue does not constitute unrelated business income if the advertising contributes to the organizations purpose. For example, publication of legal notices in a bar association journal contributes to the associations exempt purposes by promoting the common interest of the legal profession through providing a single source of information regarding legal events in the county and therefore, wouldnt result in unrelated business income. Rev. Rul. 82-139, 1982-2 CB 108. However, advertising revenue received by a bar association for ads place in its attorney directory are taxable income since the advertising is commercial in nature and represents an effort on the part of advertisers to maximize sales to a certain segment of the public. IRS Letter Ruling 9148054.

Similarly, magazine advertising revenues received by an exempt trucking association did not contribute to the associations exempt purposes where the advertising represented marketing efforts by the advertisers to sell their product. In this case, no systematic effort was made by the organization to advertise products related to the editorial content and no effort was made by the organization to limit advertisements to new products. Florida Trucking Assn Inc. (1986) 87 TC 1039.

It is clear that, with a few exceptions, advertising revenues received by a 501(c)(3) exempt organization will often generate unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).

¶ 1:10 PM 0 comments

When you are renting an apartment, you often feel like making changes is not on the agenda. After all, you dont own the space so what can you do? In this three part series, we will teach you how to devise a game plan to decorate to make your apartment feel like a home.

For every decorating project, large or small, the first step is always a walk through. You need to get a tablet or a notebook and walk through the area you are thinking of decorating while following these five steps:

1. Check for trouble spots that will cause a problem later; off center architectural elements, windows, fireplaces doors.
2. Look for anything permanent which would cause a problem in arranging a room or giving the effect you want. Particularly in older homes and apartments make a note of pipes, radiators, doorways that are closed off, uneven floors etc. In newer homes and apartments, builders often put things like heat ducts, cold air returns and thermostats just where you want to put a piece of furniture or hang a picture. Make note of these.
3. Check for trouble spots, things that throw a room off center, or 'uglies.' As a renter you don't have the options of a home owner to paint, pull apart, tear down or add to the permanent fixtures in your home. So if you don't like the looks of the layout or the color of the carpet, write it down here.
4. Mark down and measure electrical, phone, or cable outlets for TVs and computers.
5. Check windows. Do they need to be covered for privacy or to keep out light? Are the windows unusually high or too close to the floor? Are they off center, or in the middle of a wall you need for furniture placement? Now is the time to measure windows. Measure the distance from the wall and between windows, the actual size of the window, and most importantly how many inches there are from the floor to the sill (or base of window). Make a note on which windows receive sun and when.

Next you need to make a checklist of the contents of the room. Decide how the room will be used; single or multi purpose. In apartments and smaller houses you will often find you need to use the dining area for the computer or the bedroom as a craft area. Once you have your purpose you are ready to start your shopping list.

• List and measure the things you have that you will keep. If you are doing a floor to ceiling make over, you will need measurements of pieces of furniture, as well as the length and height of walls. If you have a digital camera, better yet. You can put the information into your computer. The pictures dont have to be perfect, they are just memory jogs.
• List the things that are worn out or wont work and which you will either eliminate or replace with something else.
• Finally list any purchases that need to be made with descriptions if necessary and sizes.

When you have done all this, look over your notes and take one last look at your rooms to make sure you havent missed anything which could cause a major problem.

Now for some fun! Go through decorating magazines and books. Perhaps you have saved some pictures of rooms you love. Take a fresh look at them. Perhaps there are things in these pictures which can be used to get the look you want. Or perhaps youll see a room that reminds you of the ones you have. Go to furniture showrooms and shops that sell soft furnishings and see what is out there. If you are interested in antiques, check out the antique shops and used furniture/consignment places.

Youve done the preliminary work so you are ready to go to the next step. Remember that nothing is etched in stone. If you decide on a color scheme and on your first shopping trip fall in love with something that doesnt match, take a deep breath and reconsider. You can always adjust the plan. However, once the first major purchase is made color changes are expensive.

Part II of this series will help you chose a color palette which will work well for your living space, lifestyle and personal taste.

¶ 5:55 PM 0 comments

I recently drove from the South to the Midwest and back again. It has been quite a while since I've driven a long distance (about 1,000 miles each way) and it caused me to remember why I don't like to take such trips anymore. We all have our own little idiosyncrasies for driving; for example, older people tend to move more slowly and cautiously than younger people who race pell-mell down the highway; and people tend to drive according to the customs of the geographical region they come from regardless where they currently are. Nonetheless, I have assembled a "Top 10" list of the basic driving habits that really irritates me and, if corrected, would make driving a lot more bearable for all of us. There is nothing earth-shattering here, just some observations on common driving deficiencies:

10. TURN SIGNALS - I guess I'm among the few people who still know what that little stick to the left side of the steering column is all about. It amazes me how many people do not use turn signals anymore. Maybe its because most of us are driving with one hand on the steering column and talking on a cell phone with the other. I guess letting another driver know where you are turning pales in comparison to asking Aunt Edna what to pick up at the grocery store. I tend to believe people who drive with a stick shift are more inclined to use turn signals as they are less likely to be talking on the phone as they are shifting (although I have seen it done). As trivial as the turn signal appears to be, it is a simple and effective means of communicating to other drivers what your intentions are, be it a turn or a lane change. But I think most drivers just want to keep others guessing what they are doing.

9. TAILGATING - You see this a lot in situations where younger and more aggressive drivers are frustrated with the old codgers driving below the speed limit. Its a little nerve-racking seeing someone draft another car like it was the Daytona 500. It makes you wonder why there aren't more accidents. Maybe the best way to overcome this problem is to assign times during the day when we are allowed to drive, thereby overcoming the problem of different driving speeds.

8. OBNOXIOUS TRAFFIC LIGHTS - This is more of a problem with the Department of Transportation than a particular set of drivers. I don't know who programs the traffic lights these days, but someone seems hell bent on gnarling traffic during rush hour. Maybe its a game someone is playing with us as to who can cause the biggest traffic build up. I've had people tell me that traffic lights are becoming very expensive. If this is true, maybe it would be more economical to replace them all with traffic cops who at least know what they are doing. I realize we have some pretty sophisticated computer technology to help us with traffic but I for one don't see how it is helping us. When it comes to traffic control, I still don't believe a computer can match the commonsense of a human being.

7. WEAVING - No, I'm not talking about drunk drivers driving erratically on the highway. Instead, I'm talking about the younger people who are weaving between lanes at breakneck speed, either on motorcycles or high performance vehicles. Weaving has become somewhat of a national pastime on our interstate highways, a dangerous game of "Chicken" that could kill not just the drivers, but the other innocent drivers who are trying to mind their own business as well. Why can't they just stay home and do this on their X-Box or Playstation as opposed to driving the rest of us crazy?

6. LOST "OUT-OF-TOWNERS" - You know what I mean; those people who are just plain lost and instead of reading a map, they are content to slow down at every intersection to see if this is the road they should turn into. Wouldn't it be nice if the out-of-towners simply drove in the right-hand lane with their emergency signals flashing to let us know they are lost and to avoid them? It will never happen.

5. RUBBERNECKING - This drives me particularly crazy as I have been tied up in miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic too many times only to discover that drivers were rubbernecking to look at some insignificant problem on the highway. I don't care if the problem is large or small, keep your eyes looking forward and drive the car. You can always read about the accident in tomorrow's newspaper. Hey, maybe that's it: Instead of sending out a tow-truck or emergency vehicle to the site of a problem, let's rush a news team to the site first so they can report on the accident which the other drivers can tune into on their radios.

Rubbernecking turns small problems into larger ones.

4. LACK OF COMMON COURTESY - How many times have we seen people cut off others, or someone not allow another driver to enter traffic? Far too many I'm afraid. I tend to believe how we drive is a reflection of our socialization skills. As opposed to cooperating, we tend to viscously compete on the roadways which, of course, leads to road rage. Wouldn't it be nice if we had some other signal to use other than the one finger salute?

3. SLOW TURNS - Lately I've been seeing a lot of drivers who don't seem to know how to make a turn. Instead of just slowing down a bit before making their turn, I'm seeing people come to almost a standstill; kind of like having an invisible red light they are obeying. I hope they are not seeing something that I'm not.

2. EXPRESS LANE DRIVERS - Another name for the express lane is "passing lane" which perhaps more accurately describes the intent of the left lane on our highways. It disturbs me when it isn't used for this purpose. For example, some people get into the express lane and do nothing more than the speed limit, if that. They act like a pace car when the danger flags are out. I don't know why they do this other than they want to deliberately irritate the other people driving around them. It is kind of like them saying prissily, "Well the speed limit is 55 and I'll be damn if I'll let anybody go faster than that." I just wish I had a James Bond type of car where the rear axle would extend with knives on the end to rip out their tires.

1. CELL PHONES - Well, Duh!! What did you think my number one would be? I wish I had a jamming device which would shutdown all cell phones around me when I'm driving. This would force the other drivers to use both hands on the wheel and concentrate on traffic.

The rules and regulations of the road are really not that complicated. I remember when I first took the written test when I turned 16. The one section I found humorous is where they asked you to identify various street signs. For the "Crossroad" sign they gave you the following multiple choices: 1-Crossroad ahead, 2-Church ahead, 3-A person died on this spot. I wonder how many people got this wrong? Interestingly, I remember the Valedictorian of my High School class (a real "Brainiac") failed the written test three times. I guess he was looking for the meaning of life in a stop sign.

Driving should be a simple and pleasurable experience. Unfortunately, it's not. It seems we go out of our way to misinterpret the rules or devise our own on the fly. Which makes me wonder who is passing out the drivers licenses: 1-Homer Simpson, 2-American Foundation for the Blind, 3-Your local gas station attendant (Hint: we haven't had gas station attendants in 30 years).

Back in 1965, CBS aired the National Drivers Test during prime time, the purpose of which was to educate adults and try to determine the level of driver competency. This was well received and helped improve awareness of basic driving techniques. Sounds like it's about time CBS ran it again.

Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor, Florida. You can find his work on the Internet at: http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm

He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com

Copyright 2007 Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

¶ 2:51 PM 0 comments

There are a few things in life I believe everyone should be able to do and I find it a little disconcerting when I find even young people outsourcing their life with anything from their breakfast, that comes home-delivered to their laundry thats dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening, to calling the super to replace a light bulb.

I could go on and on but you know what I mean!

Believe me I think its great that I can be more effective at what I do because I can delegate chores and needs that others do better or for less, leaving me more time to do what I like and can do best - but it is a choice, not a necessity.

Most of the things are simple but we have made them into a mystery and some are intent on keeping them mysterious as well as making them accessible so as to maintain their business.

I am sure everyone can add to this list and maybe it depends on where you live, but for what its worth, here are my top ten positions (not in any particular order):

Learn how to create a budget, balance a checkbook and manage your money
Learn how to ride a bicycle
Learn how to find your way home if youre lost in nature (or in the city jungle)
Learn CPR and first aid
Learn how to drive a stick shift
Learn how to iron a shirt, sew on a button and hem a skirt
Learn about cars - change a tire, jumpstart, change your oil or replace a fuse
Learn about electrical work - change a light bulb, replace a switch and a fuse
Learn how to shop and cook meals from scratch for yourself and others
Learn how to give a great massage
Learn basic html and build a simple website

Let me pick massage as an example, because its something I know well. I believe that everyone has the inherent knowledge of how to touch with skill and awareness. We are born with it and when challenged we know how to comfort as well as rub, hold, caress, stroke and rock ourselves and others when there is pain or discomfort. No teacher necessary.

But it seems that over time we reduce this activity to the occurrence of emergencies, acute pain and then extend it only to immediate family, to ourselves or ultimately drop it altogether as we lose the connection to our bodies in a culture that celebrates the visual but denies the physical. This has developed to an extent that touching has become a taboo and is regulated in policies and laws, especially in the workplace. Not that it has not become necessary, since clearly abuse and harassment are prevalent, but at the same time it has added to the message that physical proximity is not ok.

So when I say everyone should learn how to give a great massage I am talking about reviving the ability to relieve pain and provide comfort in way that does not invade a persons personal space. It is a service that is unconditional and does not require the receiver to reciprocate in any way, shape or form.

Being able to give a great massage is about uncovering that inherent skill that resides in every one of us, and reminding our self what it means to be of unconditional service. The strokes and movements applied even during a professional massage are secondary and can be learned with ease once inspired by the deeper understanding of service.

Since no exchange on a personal level is expected, there is no agenda. The fact that a professional massage therapist is paid for their service should not interfere with this balance as the exchange occurs on different levels. The therapist is paid for their time, not for their care. Between friends and family giving a massage to sooth, relieve pain, to comfort or balance does not include any expectation to receive any favor in exchange. It is just a pure giving.

When massage is given with no expectations including an outcome of any kind, there is no agenda Since there is no agenda, the one who gives can be completely present in the moment and need not strategize or project ones own beliefs onto the other. This in itself is the core of all healing.

The basic necessary massage techniques (the strokes) can be learned in under 100 hours of classroom time. Achieving the necessary underlying state of mind and heart is not always facilitated, as this is something that cannot be learned but rather needs to be understood. And of course to comply with governing law, there are other subjects that need to be studied before licensing can occur and the student may practice on the general public.

But for me the most important element of this process is uncovering and understanding the principles of being in the moment with no agenda and letting a deeper insight guide the process.

Massage as basic life skill inspires the way we deal with other people and inspires us to be present in our day-to-day lives. And essential element of leading a rewarding life.

Nicolay Kreidler is a licensed massage therapist and massage instructor at Touching from the Heart and a facilitator at Spa College. He is an active consultant to the spa industry and author of the book "The Successful Massage Therapist" now available as ebook through Spa Pros.

¶ 2:43 PM 0 comments