In mid-December the Association of BellTel retirees issued a request to our members alerting them about a proposed new IRS rule that would require all charities, be it a church, hospital, food pantry or even our Association to compel all donors making a contribution of $250 or more to supply their Social Security number. To anyone fearful about identity theft, this was concerning, so we asked our members to raise their voices and explain to the IRS the chilling negative impact this might result in.
Well on January 7th the federal government heard our voices and published the following notice:
“A wave of complaints forced the IRS on Thursday to withdraw its controversial plan to have nonprofit charities report the Social Security numbers of donors who give just $250 in any given year.”
This is magnificent news, but of greater significance is that it should prove to all of us that mountains would be moved if enough people make their voices heard loud and clear. There were over 37,000 comments submitted to the IRS, including 786 from our own membership. This avalanche upon the IRS, made the federal department sit up and take notice.
Our members need to look at this in a positive way and recognize what can be accomplished when we all have motivation to act swiftly. Let’s use this as a springboard and in the coming weeks. We will be asking you to call your Members of Congress and/or State Legislators to take action, or simply pressing a button and sending an email relating to our issues.
Just imagine what else can be accomplished in 2016 if all of our members take action. You can see from what happened with the IRS that it works.
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