Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

i NEW RULES GOVERN M.C. TAX REPORTS ~ By Robert O. Fee Co;i :c: Co;i ..,J ~ U Motorcycle Clubs exempt from the Callfornia Tax now have new and more stringent rules for reporting their activities to the Franchise Tax Board. In the past, tax exempt cycle clubs bandllng less than $25,000 annually have been required to report their flnanacial deta11s only on re~est, and their change of status (address, Board of Directors, by-laws, etc.) annually. Clubs for the most part, however, have Ignored their tax and reporting responslbillties and In turn have been largely Ignored by the State. In 1969 the State Legislature enacted a series of laws regulating exempt organizations that brings this particular example of la1ssez faire to a screeching halt. The Franchise Tax Board recently mailed an Information brochure to all Callfornla organizations listed as exempt by the Franchise Tax Board or the Federal Government to expla1n the legal changes affecting the exempt organizations. Also Included was a questionnaire to obtain Information to UPdate the State's records. The Franchise Tax Board Is painfully aware that a large percentage of organizations listed as exempt In their fUes have passed out of exlstance. The word1llg used In the publication indicates that the State Is exchangIng Information with the Internal Revenue Service In order to find the "live" ones and both grOllPS w1ll be able to extract more revenue. "Thar' s gold In them thar h1lls," .can be translated to read, "There's money In some of those clUbs, babyl" Most of the. enactments were continued In Assembly Bill 2267 and Senate Bills 300 and 1127. Here Is a summary of the changes as they affect motorcycle clubs organized and exempt as social and recreat10nal grouPs. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: 1. Clubs required to file calendar year returns for 1969 are sWl subject to the old law. The new forms described below may be used for 1969 calendar returns but no fees are required. The first returns, reports or statements due under the new law are for· organizations with fiscal years ending on or after January 31, 1970. ,2. Clubs which have either $10,000 or more In gross receipts or assets of a fair market value or $10,000 or more at the end of the year are required to fUe information returns. 3. For the expanded Information return fillng requirements, a new form (199) must be used for Income years ending after December 31, 1969. . 4. Clubs having less than $10,000 of gross receipts and assets must now file an annual Information report on Form 1911SF. This repOrt Is stmilar to the Internal Revenue Service Form 99OSF, but Form 199 w1ll be accepted In lieu of 'Form 1995F. 5. Other than Page 1. the rema.1n1ng TUNING THE PolDER IS IMPORTANT TOO MANNA VITA Us.d & ..colIIIMnded by Malcolm Smith D.al.r & Dlst. Inqulrl . . Invited Ask lor It at your local M/C d.aler Or call: !714\ 684-1866 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bob Fee Is an active motorcyclist and widely known in road-riding circles as a CYCLE NEWS Correspondent. Hts articles have appeared In these pages since 1962. Mr. Fee Is an Income Tax Practitioner graduated from Union Institute and known to the Internal Revenue Service since 1961. He ts the appOinted attorney for tax matters for several motorcycle clubs and has buut a thriving taxpracticeovertheyears. parts of Form 199 may be substituted with the Internal Revenue Service Form· 990 or In the case of clubs sponsoring Charitable fund-raising events, a com- . pleted copy of the Registry of Charitable Trusts Form CT-2. The penalties are fairly st1ff for the" club that values Its limited llabillty provided by the Corporate status. The m1n1mum Corporation Tax In Callfornia Is $100. And the minimum Is m1n1mum even If the club Is totally Inactive or disbanded, unless It Is legally dissolved, the officers of record could be as~essed that tax. ." 1. I! an exempt organization falls to submit a return, repOrt or statement on time, or pay the f111ng fee, 11' s exemption from tax may be revoked or, In the case of a corpnration, the corporation status may be suspended or forfeited.. 2. Failure of an exempt organization to complete and return the ~est1onnaire will result In revocation of the organization's exempt status. "Those clubs not receiving the pamphlet or fa111ng to complete and return PATRACO HI·PERFORMANCE EQUIPMENT SALES - PARTS - SERVICE NEW FEES: Even If your club Is exempt from the tax,. the squeeze Is on - 11' s going 10 cost you just to fUe the form. 1. Clubs required to fUe an annual return or report must pay an annual fee of $5. I! the fUing fee Is not paid on time, the p,enalty Is 100% or pay $10. The first due date of returns or reports with fees ts June 15, 1970forclubs with fiscal years endingJanuary31,1970 and thereafter. 2. Clubs required to me a return which do not fUe on time are also subject to the m1n1mum franchise tax of $100 for late fillng of the return. Extensions of time for f111ng the return, report or statement may be granted for good cause. Request your extension of Form FTB 3504. The maxlmum extension Is s1l< months from the or1g1nal due date. But take note; good cause·ts such things like the treasurer drops dead or lightnIng destroys the ~, etc. It doesn't Include Ignorance of the requirements or Inconvenience. PENALTIES DUCO'SSo. Standard Ave. MOTORCYCLES 1629 S.. ta Ana, Cal. 92707 (714) 543-9688 Palos Verlles Pen., Callf.-98214 •v....-< - (D3) 8a2-G9l1l1l_ _ .----~ ..AICO -MOTO-GUZZI- DUCATI-SACHS SALES - SERVICE - f'ARTS All orders shipped same day 712 Yorktown Ave.. Huntlllllon B~ach (714) 53..-3223 Action Cycle a.- July 5, and the final go on July 19. Top pOint man In the series wtll receive $200, with second place getting a new m1n1-blke. Series' class winners will receive a Yoder full-coverage helmet, with second place finisher receiving a $10 gift cert1f1cate. @esults on page 22) Mexican Race Set By CMC The uP coming Ensenada 500 looks like another big one. The Mexican motocross w1ll be presented by the Callfornia Motor-SpOrt Club In conjunction with the Ense.nada Chamber of Commerce and the Baja Racing Association. The two day event will be on July 25 and 26. Practice w1ll be on Saturday afternoon, and all classes will race 011 Sunday. The CMC has la1d out the course on a h1lls1de near the ocean and camping w1ll be near the course on Friday the 24th through Sunday the 26th. Expert riders w1ll be competing for'" $500 purse, and Juniors and Intermediates w1ll compete for trophies. The entry fee Is $5 per class and blanks can be obtained at CMC eventsor by writing p.O. Box #1402, Costa Mesa. Callfornia, 92626. Only mall entries will be accepted, and the closing date Is mldnlght July 10. CMC membership ts required, and there w1ll be no entry fees re.funded or transferred. Pie plate number plates will not be acceptable nor will numbers that cannot be eas1ly read. There will, however, be a trophy for the best looking set of number plates, as well as one for the best looking bike. Saturday's pr,:actice w1ll be followed by a riders parade through town and then a bar-b-que on Saturday night complete with a mariachi band. Sunday's race will be televised and prize money and trophies w1ll be presented after the race. ThIs w1ll be the first annual Ensenada 500, and provided that everyone behaves himself south of the border, there w1ll be many more. BEACH CITIES CYCLES SOUTHERN ORANGE COUNTY MOTOCROSS HEADQUARTERS Husqvarna - VlIlIaha - Greens HOlIda ACCESSORIES-SPECIAUSTS 525 N. EI ClIIIlino Real SIn Clemente, Calif. 92612 Cl14) 412·6141 l I· SPOITS.AN • ALL CLASSES FASTEST 3/8 MILE ON SUPER WIDE FLAT DIRT IN THE NATION Barstow Speedway - 35591 Riverside Drive, Barstow, Calif. OPE"'NG JU"E 6 • 8:00 P•••• ls, & 3r~ S.,. Ni••,s ADMISSION - $1.50 • 12 TO 18 YEARS - 5.50· UNDER 12 - FREE S.S.T. by San T"'I allo crowns lor Honda Trail 70 & IIlnl bikes. Chanl. to conventional tyPe handle bars lar bett. handline. We machine hoi. for ClItIlprelllon ....aH 18241 CUi,. BI'd. ClI,. City, "Calif. (213) - 20059 Roscoe Blvd., Canola P.k, Ca. 91306 L..-_ _ ---J p.lie•• Di,' & C,d. Dis'. C •• 500 Broadway St.; Vallejo, Cal. 94S90 I Culver CI'~ 1 C~cleCen'er. (>od' f{~'" MAICO u. H•• s• • f .AICO I.D. SPOITCYCLfS PO Box 2611, 1025 "P" Street, or by telephonIng the author at 213!ED 5-9133, 9-5 dally except Monday: " Judging from the hints of Information exchange with the Internal Revenue Service, It would be a very good idea to get squared away with "Uncle." One of the questions on the questionnaire ts "What ts your status with the Federal Government?" That Item alone opens a wIIole new box of headaches wblch will be covered 10 a future column. The next subject Is for those clubs who wish to become Incorporated and/or tax exempt -;- It's no longer simple. Staten leads At Deadmans DEADMAN'S POINT, CALIF. May 31, 1970 - After Sunday's th1rd race In the current six race motocross series, Rex Staten, the young 250cc Jr. Ossa hotshoe, leads the field with a total of 3600 points. Staten has won nine out of his nine series' motos. Jim Hoover, riding a Hodaka and a Yamaha, picked uP overall wins In 100cc and '25Occ Jr. competition and now ranks third In total series pOints behind Staten and Gary Whitehead. Hoover won two of his motos In the 100cc division, but had to be satisfied with only one victory in Dlv. n of the 250 class, In a closely contested battle with Husky mounted Whitehead. It was another Gatorade day at this desert course near Victorville, but 137 riders braved the heat to ride In nine d1tferent classes. The first set of motos was run for eight laps around the tight l1ttle course, but due to the heat and -time, the last two sets were cut to six lap events. Promoter Bob Dressler has his water truck In fine workIng order: In such fine order, in tact, that many riders found their engines stalled after going through the super slimey mud hole. Dressler had changed the course slightly for this week's event, and "Point" regulars found the track faster than usual. . Some of the best racing of the day came In the combined 250- 500cc Sr •motos. C Z mounted Larry Mulock managed an overall 250cc victory, but not before a close battle with Don Watldns Jr. (Montesa) and 500cc class winner, Tom Horton (AJS). Where other riders tend to"sky" off The Point's jumps, and land on their rear wheels, Mulock has a knack of obtaining tremendous distance and landIng flat. Capitalizing on this and other tricks of the motocross trade, Mulock captured two of his three motos. . - The events were run smoothly, and the last moto had been completed by 4 pm. From the course', riders and their fam1Ues journeyed some 100 yards to the local saloon for beer dr1nk1ng, troPhY presentation, and - most 1mpOrtant of all'- bench racing. The next race In the serles Is set for June 21, with the f1fth contest slated for MOTD-X ACCESSORIES IIc:c & 17Scc writ. or ClIIi the Information questionnaire, can reasonably assume that their corporate and! or exempt status w1ll be terminated by the end of 1970." (Statement of Franch1se Tax Board off1cial during interview AprU 20, 1970) Any club wIIo has recently Incorpnrated can attest to the h1gb cost of attorneys wblch mates the loss of Corporate status penalty a costly one. Exempt clubs should waste- no time in completing and returning the questiOllnaire to the Franch1se Tax Board. Copies can be obtained by writing directly to the board, care of Exempt Organizations, We'll Beat Any Deal TIp Dlllar For Any Usetl M/C We Need Vlur Trade BILL ROBERTSON & SONS, INC. MOTORCYCLE CITY 1525 s..ta .... Iea Blvd., Hollywood, Ca. PfI_ 467-8161 • 467~141 ClmRTTI ,.-=- "'n°W Ad' "'~.., F~ r,• .<._......~ o.. .<..... HEAT-TREATED, STEEL, MOTOCROSS, SElF - CLEANING, -. ~ FOLDING PEGS• Fits Specilic ODAKA,HONDA, KAWASAKI AND YAMAHA ·MODElS. A" ~U.t PrIce ~v S8.95 ~ AVAILABLE AT YDUR

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