Volunteer Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors’ leaders obtained perks and cost that attorneys say might run afoul of US tax legal guidelines, in keeping with an investigation by the Occasions revealed on Monday.
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Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors volunteer leaders are paid lavish stipends and different advantages that will skirt U.S. tax legal guidelines for nonprofits, in keeping with a bombshell investigation revealed by The New York Occasions on Monday.
The perks didn’t simply apply to members of management. Along with former CEO Bob Goldberg’s $2.6 million annual wage, NAR agreed to cowl the price of non-public golf equipment in Chicago and Washington together with as much as $75,000 of the initiation price plus dues at a rustic membership close to his dwelling in Maryland and should be remunerating him as a paid marketing consultant, in keeping with the report.
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Members of the management staff have obtained company bank cards that have been used for costly dinners, golf outings and different perks at resorts and occasions like tickets for themselves and relations to see performs on Broadway.
The investigation included insights from attorneys who questioned whether or not the spending was authorized.
“It is highly unusual — I would even say virtually unheard-of — for volunteer leaders and officers to receive compensation at those levels,” Jeff Tenenbaum, a nonprofit lawyer in Washington, D.C., instructed The New York Occasions. “Many of us who practice association antitrust law have always wondered, ‘How can they get away with this?’”
NAR President Kevin Sears
One other legal professional instructed The Occasions that nonprofit teams run the danger of shedding their tax exemption if their members violate tax legal guidelines by participating in unreasonable bills and personal advantages.
The report comes as NAR has spent the 12 months seeking to enhance its standing amongst members who’re overtly questioning the worth offered by the group and its state and native counterparts, to which they pay annual dues.
The reporter spoke with 18 former officers and former and present NAR staff as a part of the investigation. She additionally obtained recordings of a non-public dialog by CEO Nykia Wright from October and Goldberg’s confidential employment contract from 2017.
NAR spokesman Mantill Williams instructed The Occasions that being concerned in management “requires a substantial time commitment, personal sacrifice and significant travel,” and famous that leaders are working actual property professionals who quit skilled time to serve in these positions.
In response to questions from Inman about whether or not it has carried out current adjustments or if it disputes any of the report’s findings, NAR declined to remark.
The report relied partially on publicly obtainable tax filings by the nonprofit commerce group. Inman has beforehand reported that members of the NAR management staff are paid seven-figure stipends.
Previous NAR president Charles Oppler obtained an annual cost of $294,798 in 2021, and president-elect Leslie Rouda Smith obtained $251,788, Inman beforehand reported, utilizing the most recent obtainable tax filings.
Former NAR CEO Dale Stinton obtained $250,000 as a marketing consultant for the group in 2021. Requested on the time whether or not NAR was persevering with to pay Stinton as a marketing consultant and whether or not Goldberg would have an identical deal when he retired, NAR declined to remark, saying its employment contracts are confidential.
Bob Goldberg
The Occasions identified that Goldberg has listed himself on LinkedIn as an govt marketing consultant for NAR, although it’s not clear what function he performs, how a lot he’s being paid and what different perks he may be receiving from the group.
Leaders might additionally take spouses with them on enterprise journeys, which might contain first-class airfare, in keeping with The Occasions’ report.
Former officers instructed The Occasions that they not often filed expense reviews and that they used their company bank cards from NAR as a substitute. As soon as, after leaders ran up the tab shopping for tickets for the hit play “Hamilton,” the group’s bookkeepers started to tamp down spending.
The report additionally outlined different perks given to Goldberg, who obtained a $1,500 automotive allowance and $2,250 every month to assist cowl the prices of utilities and insurance coverage at a residence he saved close to NAR headquarters in Chicago, plus a pet sitter for his two canine whereas he traveled.
