It Takes Reaffirming to the IRS that Symphony Orchestras are of Public Value

According to the League of American Orchestras, U.S. symphonies are in great danger having to pay a ticket sales tax under internal revenue code. In order to prevent this from happening, the League of American Orchestras and these nonprofit organizations must be able to prove their level of public value among consumers and communities.


Currently, all American symphony orchestras are classified as tax exempt organizations. Do you remember the criteria for being considered a nonprofit organization? Their main purpose is to benefit the community, not to make a profit. But how does the government acquire the proof that it is really executing that mission?


Notice, a for -profit organization's purpose is to maximize revenues and values to shareholders. The IRS can easily deduce from data whether an organization's revenues are increasing or decreasing and how they are spending profits, which gives them the evidence to classify them as "for-profit" so they can demand a federal income tax payment.


One of the issues here is that nonprofit organizations DO try to maximize their revenues as well, and the IRS may not realize that they generate this revenue in order to recycle it back into the company and continue to serve the community.


If all American symphony orchestras fail to keep their tax exempt organization status, I can only imagine that the overall quality of life in this country would decrease exponentially. As an art form with origins that can be traced back to the Renaissance period, music, or more specifically, symphony orchestra performances have become something sacred should not be taken for granted or abused.