4 ms·

Also probably worth mentioning: https://sfosc.org/ https://sfosc.org/ https://medium.com/sustainable-free-and-open-source-communities/we-need-sustainable-free

Also probably worth mentioning: https://sfosc.org/ https://sfosc.org/ https://medium.com/sustainable-free-and-open-source-communities/we-need-sustainable-free-and-open-source-communities-edf92723d619 https://medium.com/sustainable-free-and-open-source-communit... And my own personal take on this whole Game of Throne'ing that's currently happening out there with open source: https://medium.com/@echohack/we-need-more-sustainable-free-and-open-source-software-before-its-too-late-a168fdaf7237 https://medium.com/@echohack/we-need-more-sustainable-free-a...

Conan_Kudo 8y ago
Some U.S. states have "social purpose corporation", which might work for open source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_purpose_corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_purpose_corporation
- hobofan 8y ago
  Something similar exists in Germany. Sadly in the past courts have ruled that even corporations that have been solely dedicated to providing a structure for open source projects are not eligible for tax exemption because "they serve special interest groups rather than the common good".
  - nwellnhof 8y ago
    You probably mean gGmbHs which, unlike SPCs, are strictly non-profit. A gGmbH is more similar to a 501(c) (tax-exempt) corporation in the US. That said, it's really tragic that many open-source organizations aren't tax-exempt in Germany.
  - detaro 8y ago
    Seems to be not a hard rule though, since e.g. the Center for the Cultivation of Technology (https://techcultivation.org/ https://techcultivation.org/) managed to achieve gGmbH status.
    - hobofan 8y ago
      I can't seem to find much info about the CCT. Have the actually picked up stewardship for any projects, and managed to file taxes without the tax authorities challenging their status? As long as there is nothing to tax, gGmbh status is quite attainable. All the examples I know are from what seems to be much bigger projects, with all of them failing to be recognized as tax-exempt.
      - detaro 8y ago
        No, haven't seen much of them, just remembered reading about them somewhere, and looking at the issue tracker they link seems activity stopped a while back - if status is easier if not active, then that's a problem, I would have thought the initial step is hard already. :/
    - nwellnhof 8y ago
      The Document Foundation (LibreOffice) is also recognized as German charity. German open-source orgs typically claim to support science and education which is charitable under German tax law (I think this is similar to the situation in the US). There's also a catch-all clause in the tax code, but in the end you're at the mercy of tax authorities, and judges if you can afford a law suit (see J&Beyond eV, for example). FWIW, I just started a petition to help secure the tax status of open-source orgs in Germany. Not sure if I have much motivation to promote it though: https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/anerkennung-der-foerderung-von-open-source-software-als-gemeinnuetzig https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/anerkennung-der-...

Conan_Kudo 8y ago

Some U.S. states have "social purpose corporation", which might work for open source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_purpose_corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_purpose_corporation

hobofan 8y ago
Something similar exists in Germany. Sadly in the past courts have ruled that even corporations that have been solely dedicated to providing a structure for open source projects are not eligible for tax exemption because "they serve special interest groups rather than the common good".
- nwellnhof 8y ago
  You probably mean gGmbHs which, unlike SPCs, are strictly non-profit. A gGmbH is more similar to a 501(c) (tax-exempt) corporation in the US. That said, it's really tragic that many open-source organizations aren't tax-exempt in Germany.
- detaro 8y ago
  Seems to be not a hard rule though, since e.g. the Center for the Cultivation of Technology (https://techcultivation.org/ https://techcultivation.org/) managed to achieve gGmbH status.
  - hobofan 8y ago
    I can't seem to find much info about the CCT. Have the actually picked up stewardship for any projects, and managed to file taxes without the tax authorities challenging their status? As long as there is nothing to tax, gGmbh status is quite attainable. All the examples I know are from what seems to be much bigger projects, with all of them failing to be recognized as tax-exempt.
    - detaro 8y ago
      No, haven't seen much of them, just remembered reading about them somewhere, and looking at the issue tracker they link seems activity stopped a while back - if status is easier if not active, then that's a problem, I would have thought the initial step is hard already. :/
  - nwellnhof 8y ago
    The Document Foundation (LibreOffice) is also recognized as German charity. German open-source orgs typically claim to support science and education which is charitable under German tax law (I think this is similar to the situation in the US). There's also a catch-all clause in the tax code, but in the end you're at the mercy of tax authorities, and judges if you can afford a law suit (see J&Beyond eV, for example). FWIW, I just started a petition to help secure the tax status of open-source orgs in Germany. Not sure if I have much motivation to promote it though: https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/anerkennung-der-foerderung-von-open-source-software-als-gemeinnuetzig https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/anerkennung-der-...