Provision in tax cut bill stirs protests from non-profits

President Donald Trump and Republican supporters have credited last December’s tax cut legislation with stirring economic recovery and reducing unemployment to 3.8 percent. But non-profits are protesting an obscure provision of the bill.

The Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA) is circulating an electronic petition against the law as it relates to employee parking. Nearly 2,300 parties had signed the petition by early July.

The ECFA, which oversees more than 2,200 ministries, and other non-profits are protesting having to file federal income tax returns. They must pay unrelated business income tax (UBIT) on the cost of parking and other transportation benefits provided to employees—even if the organizations do not conduct any unrelated business activities.

“In addition to filing federal income tax returns, many nonprofit employees affected by the new law will also be required to file state income tax returns, and possibly pay a state income tax as a result of the new federal income tax,” the petition says. 

Among other issues affected by the legislation are a limit on using losses from an unrelated trade or business activity to offset income from another.