Very good summary of the situation and worthwhile reading for those members of this forum who are trying to understand the situation. It also supports the 2009 POA analysis of the potential risk to Villagers when the article points out that, if the bonds are taxable, the bondholders will presumably look to the Villages Center District for reimbursement of their taxes. If the District incurs this potentially huge liability, will the District be financially able to continue our amenity system?

That has been a concern of many throughout this whole boondoggle. The interest on $426,200,000 would be substantial.

I'm not nearly as "up to speed" on this subject as others are, but didn't the developer's attorney mention that they were looking at some sort of settlement with the IRS? Just my opinion but the developer flinched and now the IRS smells "blood in the water". The IRS is probably not going to let go until they get some money. How much is anybody's guess.

That's funny. Sounds like a good guess.

Mr. Plumber. Some folks here just wait to cheer if anything goes against the developer.

I am not one of those people. If the IRS hurts the developer, it hurts all of us.

And I don't work for the developer. I am just a huge fan.

When was the last time you heard that General Electric or Walmart was being audited??? They are so large the IRS has to just take their word, meanwhile "Jim-Bob's Lawn Service" is having to explain the last 3 years of his tax returns...

I don't believe the IRS is challenging "Morse", they are challenging the development. It does makes sense that the development pays for the attorney fees to defend the challenge against the development.

The deleted comments might have been the most interesting...

Yes Graciegirl some people do like to complain. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we don't have the inside information regarding this issue. But I suspect negotiating with the IRS is like wrestling with a pig - the more you do it, the more you realize they like it. I can see both sides whether somebody likes or dislikes The Developer, but the bottom line is to the best of my knowledge there is nothing like The Villages in the United States. So despite some of my concerns about The Developer, the first chance I get I'm buying a home in The Villages and moving down here, and every time I think I may have a complaint I'm going to remember the snow and the sub-zero temps that I left in Minnesota. Hmmm I can't wait!

Yes, I don't see the residents cheering about the IRS issues, particularly when it could have a huge effect on where their amenity fees go. :(

The list of IRS Legal Payments as reported by the VCDD at the January 2015 Amenity Authority Committee meeting at Savannah Regional Recreation Center can be found by down loading the PDF of their 01/07/15 meeting and then go to page 58.
VCDD Amenity Authority Committee - AAC

I don’t know if these payments are all inclusive for all Village entities.

Thanks for posting.

Having worked for a large corporation, I can tell you that you are mistaken. Many (maybe most, I haven't seen any statistics) large corporations are virtually under constant audit and even have a room at headquarters set aside for use by the IRS auditors. The IRS does not just take their word for it.

We don't have access to all the facts, and I don't feel qualified to express any view regarding the merits of the IRS's position on the Villages Center District bonds. However, the IRS is not picking on the Developer here. The Developer adopted a very aggressive tax strategy, when he used the tax exempt bonds the way he did, and now is having to defend his actions. From the perspective of us Villagers, it behooves us to keep an eye on the matter to try to ensure that the Developer does not enter into any kind of a settlement or other resolution that jeopardizes our rights to the amenity system and to take legal action if he does.

In fact, from our perspective, it would be nice if the Developer is merely prohibited from further using tax exempt bonds to fund the Center Districts' purchase of amenity facilities.

I too am a huge fan of the Developer in terms of the structure and operation of The Villages, and I love living here.

But I expect the Developer, and every other merchant with whom I deal, to carry out his contractual obligations to me and his other customers. Furthermore, I don't think I have seen any posts in which the contributor is cheering for the IRS to win and hurt the Developer or the Center Districts.

However, if the IRS does win, it should be the Developer, not Villagers, who bears the resulting cost. The question of many people like myself, who have spent some time familiarizing ourselves with this matter, is What exactly happens if the IRS does win?

If you have an answer to that question, I would like to see it. If we had an independent newspaper here, that question is something that their staff would have long ago analyzed and discussed in print. As it is, we have to rely on our own digging around and on the POA and its volunteers to keep us apprised via their Bulletin.