On Wed, 22 Sep 2004, Gene Gaines wrote:
ISOC is non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, incorporated in the District of Columbia.
I suggest it would be a serious mistake for the IETF not to obtain the same status.
There are many kinds of 501(c) exemptions. They all come with different kinds of chains that impose limits on what the organization can do and impose affirmative duties. Simply jumping into one category without understanding the nature and form of those chains could lead to a kind of organizational buyer's remorse.
Whether one considers the application process easy (or hard), fast (or slow), or the IRS to be capricious (or not), it isn't something to be undertaken lightly or without understanding the ramifications. The IRS is one of the world's great bureaucracies; I know attorneys whose entire practice is focused on just small parts of the US tax code and small parts of that bureacracy.
The choice of Federal excemption also may have impact on the liability (or rather on the limitation of liability) of unpaid Directors and officers both on the basis of State laws that recognize certain protections for certain 501 categories (and not for others) and also under Federal laws that may provide some protection for volunteer (unpaid) directors under some circumstances.
Many have, of course, navigated the maze and been happy with the results. And some entities, after having experienced life as a 501(c)(3) have discovered the limitations too binding and have changed their status.
The IETF ought to move forward with knowledge and understanding. It ought not go forward blindly and with say 501(c)(3) or bust without knowing fully what that means and implies.
The same goes for chosing the state of incorporation and the form under that state's laws.
(There is, of course, the option of creating several different legally cognizable entities, each shrink-wrapped with its own choice of jurisdiction and form. But that could lead to a situation in which there is not one IETF but several that drift in divergent directions.)
I'm not arguing against the 501(c)(3) status - I have neither an opinion nor enough knowledge to make an informed choice. I'm merely noting that the issue is complex and involves hard choices that ought to be made with knowledge of the tradeoffs.
--karl--
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