A large and by some opinions, effective housing development nonprofit in Philadelphia is facing the possible loss of its tax exemption. There is some question as to what the nonprofit's specific obligation actually is or was but most interesting to me is the statement by the former exec. who said, through his attorney in the Philadelphia Inquirer that he "took no responsibility for the failure to file with the IRS, though Greene directly ran the nonprofit, which had no regular staff. Mr. Greene's duties did not include tax matters."
So, who's purview are tax matters if not a nonprofit exec's? One slice at the answer is another question: legally or practically? It is my understanding that legally, tax matters fall under the purview of the nonprofit board. It is the board's fiduciary responsibility to ensure that all tax-related compliances are met. Filing and ensuring that the filing is complete would then fall under this operating rule.
At the same time, while a board may have an audit committee and maybe an executive committee to prudently ensure that filings are accurate, complete and on-time, the day-to-day task of getting this accomplished is more commonly overseen if not personally addressed through the organization's "agent" i.e. its executive director.
Could Mr. Greene's duties not include tax matters? It is very possible that these duties were delegated to the nonprofit's accountant. Is it possible that the delegation and oversight was done directly by the board? Possible, yes.