Press Release

Nonprofit Tax Exemptions Hold Due to Massive Member Push from the Georgia Center for Nonprofits

Thanks to the advocacy leadership of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits and its membership , recent Georgia tax code revisions that would have had significant impact on the state’s nonprofits have been removed.

Atlanta, GA - 3/24/2011 - Thanks to the advocacy leadership of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits and its membership of over 1200 nonprofit organizations throughout the state, recent Georgia tax code revisions that would have had significant impact on the state’s nonprofits have been removed from The Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue’s legislation.

Tax Council recommendations reflected in HB 385 included a sunset date for important tax exemptions for nursing homes and hospice providers among others. New proposed service taxes included several categories that would have impacted nonprofits like Humane Societies that provide subsidized spay and neutering programs and an array of nonprofits that provide subsidized wellness programs for families, for example. Last, many nonprofits that serve working families and low income people were highly concerned with proposals to tax groceries and remove exemptions on retirement income. The Special Joint Committee stated that a bill was expected to be introduced that will keep all current nonprofit exemptions in effect, and which removes some of the more worrisome new taxes proposed, like those on veterinarian services, memberships, and groceries.

GCN’s membership produced a powerful voice against these measures. The Chair acknowledged they had heard from "back home" about the proposals in HB 385 and assured that they "would not be taxing Girl Scout Cookies" alluding to the fact that many members of the committee were contacted by affected nonprofits.

Legislators have three bills in which to advance tax reform in the next three weeks. Outside the current proposal, they should use the other bills to take a vote on two additional changes:

Raise the tobacco tax by $1.00 to bring overall tax revenues back up to 2006 levels, reduce the cost to the state for smoking-related illnesses, and lower the rate of teen smoking.
Add an exemption for food banks, federally qualified health centers and free clinics ( to replace the exemption that expired this year)

Georgia Center for Nonprofits’ President and CEO Karen Beavor credits the voices of its nonprofit members for responding to GCN’s call to action. In an update to members, Beavor stated “we are proud of our members for achieving our goals to maintain existing exemptions, remove some of the most regressive aspects of new tax proposals and to remove some of the new taxes on services that would have impacted nonprofits across the state. Our collective voice made the difference. We saved nonprofit organizations’ money, protected additional nonprofits from needless taxation, raised the profile of our industry in the eyes of our legislative representatives, and we protected the interests of Georgians who cannot afford higher grocery bills. Adding that, "our success in achieving our goals illustrates the scope and power of our membership."

About the Georgia Center for Nonprofits

Over the past 20 years, the Georgia Center for Nonprofits has become a leading state nonprofit organization through its work to improve the quality of life in our communities and across our state by helping to create higher-performing nonprofits. GCN magnifies nonprofit impact in powerful ways—through training, networking, knowledge sharing, advocacy, and collaborations.

As the leading advocate for Georgia’s nonprofit sector, GCN helps policy-makers and the public understand and support the work of nonprofits. We develop effective nonprofit leaders and professionals through our Nonprofit University programs and training workshops, and we encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration with year round learning and networking events. We promote partnerships between nonprofits and foundations, businesses, and government to meet critical needs. We also provide expert consulting services to help organizations build capacity. Learn more at www.gcn.org

Media Contact
Joe Folan
678-916-3013
editor@gcn.org