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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Board,<br>
I'm in favour of the sentiment of Arnulf's suggestion, namely that
we should try to avoid having the legal constraints of one country
constrict the scope of OSGeo-International.<br>
<br>
In practice, I'm in favour of selecting Daniel's option B for
taxation purposes:<br>
<i>B- A non-profit 501c3 foundation with the educational focus,
and drop completely the project sponsorship program and any
other taxable activities (restricting ourselves to non-profit
educational activities)... note that a conference like FOSS4G,
other than for the (minor) sponsor advertizing aspect that comes
with it, is a guenuine educational activity, so that should not
be a problem
</i><br>
<br>
For purposes such as fund raising, I think we should be working
with sister organisations, be they an OSGeo local chapter,
LocationTech, OGC, or something else.<br>
<br>
On 14/11/2012 4:19 AM, Daniel Morissette wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:50A2812B.4050105@mapgears.com" type="cite">I
agree that OSGeo global needs to have a legal status somewhere in
order to deal with money. And in this world dealing with money is
unavoidable, so I am not in favor of getting rid of the current
setup. We "just"(?) need to find a way to clear up our legal
status and set things straight for the future.
<br>
<br>
Daniel
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 12-11-13 12:14 PM, Paul Ramsey wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">That's all well and good, but
<br>
(a) we've been earning money for many years in a USA
organization, so
<br>
the tax status will affect if that organization owes back-taxes,
<br>
presumably
<br>
(b) we'll continue to earn money via FOSS4G in whatever
jurisdiction
<br>
we earn it and that will have tax implications in whatever
<br>
jurisdiction that is
<br>
So, the legal status of the international organization has to be
settled.
<br>
P.
<br>
<br>
On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 8:30 AM, Landon Blake
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:sunburned.surveyor@gmail.com"><sunburned.surveyor@gmail.com></a> wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">I just read Arnulf's post about OSGeo as
a global organization, and
<br>
the appropriateness of persistently pursuing tax-exempt status
for the
<br>
OSGeo in the US. Arnulf invited us to send our comments here,
and I'm
<br>
taking him up on that invitation.
<br>
<br>
I really appreciate his comments, which made me think about
the issue
<br>
in a new way. I agree wholeheartedly with the concept in his
posting.
<br>
It would make sense to have OSGeo members here in the US
pursue legal
<br>
status for some branch of the OSGeo if that is needed, and not
<br>
restrict our global organization to the legal requirements for
that
<br>
status. Perhaps the ball could be carried by the California
Chapter,
<br>
or by the North American Chapter (do we have a North American
<br>
Chapter?).
<br>
<br>
At any rate, I wanted to voice my support for Arnulf's line of
<br>
thinking and offer to support any effort to have US members of
OSGeo
<br>
handle the issue of organizing some legal body for US tax
issues.
<br>
<br>
Landon
<br>
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</blockquote>
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<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">http://www.lisasoft.com</a>
</pre>
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