I.R.S. Drops Tax Exempt Status For Groups Nationwide and Here in Creve Coeur

1:54 p.m. Update:

Creve Coeur Squires, Inc. President David Kreuter told Creve Coeur Patch Thursday afternoon that the Creve Coeur Squires included in the released I.R.S. list is likely the old iteration of the organization. According to records on file with the Missouri Secretary of State's office, the original Creve Coeur Squires, Inc. was formed in 1971 and its status as a non-profit was forfeited in 1978.

Kreuter, who also serves on the Creve Coeur City Council, said the newer entity was formed in 2010. The Secretary of State's office shows the non-profit organization as being in good standing. 

Kreuter said the group is waiting for the I.R.S. to approve a request for tax exempt status.

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The Creve Coeur Squires appear on a newly-released list of approximately 275,000 organizations nationwide which have lost their tax-exempt status under legislation passed by Congress in 2006.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the Pension Protection Act changed the rules for filling requirements and removes the tax-exempt status if required documentation isn't filed for three straight years.

In a press release this week, the IRS said it has been working with organizations over the last three years to inform them of the coming requirements and believes that the vast majority of those on the list are out of business.

The Creve Coeur Squires, which just last month held its annual kickoff dinner for the 2011 Creve Coeur Days events, has been an active fundraiser for community causes in Creve Coeur for years. Efforts to reach members for comment have so far been unsuccessful Thursday.

In the IRS press release, Commissioner Doug Shulman said "we realize there may be some legitimate organizations, especially very small ones, that were unaware of their new filing requirement. We are taking additional steps for these groups to maintain their tax-exempt status without jeopardizing their operations or harming their donors.”

Organizations which are still in business are eligible to reapply for tax-exempt status at a reduced cost.