Dear Editor:

This is in response to a letter published in your June 28, 2012 edition concerning the Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station Council (Cuckolds Light). The letter in question attributed to “Sally McKinley of Boothbay” alleges wrongfully that Cuckolds “is and has been misrepresented regarding its non-profit status.” This statement is simply untrue.

The Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station Council, which does business under the name Cuckolds Light is organized under Maine law as a Nonprofit Corporation, Charter Number 20050328 D. Each year, Cuckolds Light files an annual report with the Maine Secretary of State that is available online through Maine.gov. Cuckolds Light is in good standing.

In the second paragraph, this letter alleges officials of Cuckolds Light have “cited the reason for losing their non-profit status as being due to late tax return filing.” This statement is also untrue. The non-profit status of Cuckolds Light, which is a function of Maine law, has not been lost and remains intact.

In the third paragraph, this letter alleges that the writer had “contacted the Internal Revenue Service to confirm current non-profit status” of Cuckolds Light. I am certain that if such a conversation did take place (which I sincerely question), then the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would have told the caller that there is a distinct difference between non- profit status and whether Cuckolds Light is an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. One is a function of state law and the other of Federal tax law.

Let me be clear, Cuckolds Light along with thousands of other formerly exempt organizations had its tax-exempt status automatic revoked last year. In fact, the law changed and IRS was left with no discretion and had to revoke many exempt organizations. This was truthfully and promptly reported to the Boothbay Register and the public at large when the facts were discovered in October of 2011. As quickly as possible after this discovery, Cuckolds Light applied to IRS to have its tax exempt status reinstated. In fact, it did everything legally possible by re-applying for recognition of tax exemption by filing another IRS Form 1023 under section 501(c)(3) and paying the appropriate ($850) user fee. Significantly, Cuckolds Light also requested retroactive reinstatement as a part of its application based on serious misconduct of its former Treasurer among other reasonable causes. Included in that filing were true copies of all past year's tax returns from Cuckolds' date of recognition as an exempt organization on June 7, 2007 (with an effective date of December 6, 2004) and a complete forensic accounting of its bank records demonstrating the misconduct.

Before writing this response, Cuckolds Light called the IRS today to check on the status of its request for reinstatement. Because of an unprecedented backlog of automatic revocations last year, IRS has just assigned that request to a reinstatement specialist within the last week. We have been promised a timely review and expect full reinstatement in the near future. We will make certain that the readers of the Boothbay Register are informed of the reinstatement results as soon as the news arrives.

In closing, let me explain why I would be so bold as to question the legitimacy of a letter to the editor. Look at paragraph four of the "Sally McKinley letter." This letter asserts "facts" about Cuckolds Light's tax filings that the IRS would not and could not divulge in a phone conversation without written authorization of the taxpayer (e.g., “even though Form 990 returns were filed by Cuckolds treasurer, Mr. Krulis, in 2009 and 2010”). This letter cites other facts that are simply untrue (e.g., "the tax returns for 2006 through 2008 were never filed either"). In fact, Cuckolds Light requested an “advance ruling” from IRS on its exempt status. This meant that Cuckolds Light's first IRS filing was not a “return” at all, but a “Support Schedule for Advance Ruling Period,” known as IRS Form 8734. This “schedule” was filed and included a complete accounting of the Cuckolds Light's financial results for tax years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 on one form. No one working at IRS would make these mistakes. These facts were not made public and could only be the result of a discussion with the former Treasurer of Cuckolds Light, Mr. Joseph Krulis, whom a cynical person might suspect is the source either of this letter or the information contained therein.

Steven Richardson
Attorney for Cuckolds Light