2025-02-26T14:58:24-07:00 2023-12-31 990EZ 2023-01-01 830647346 MERIT THEATRE COMPANY INC MERI 8597951860 3350 Easton Lane Burlington KY 41005 Rebekah Powers Treasurer 8594461733 2025-02-11 1 2023 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z X X https://www.merittheatre.org X X 76407 X 9565 66842 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 76407 0 0 0 27485 5517 0 37279 70281 6126 185028 0 191154 X 3828 9954 175900 175900 5300 5300 185028 191154 0 0 185028 191154 Merit Theatre Company will provide communities of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and surrounding areas with professional quality, family-friendly, faith-based entertainment. The specific objectives and purpose of this organization shall be: a. To provide opportunities for local talent to participate in a professional quality, competitive, but welcoming environment; b. To provide local talent of all ages and experience levels a safe, spiritual, and nurturing environment in which to hone their crafts; c. To provide the communities of local areas and visitors to those areas with inspiring productions of the highest possible quality, including but not limited to musicals, plays, concerts, and original works; d. To produce wholesome works that both (1) are consistent with the Christian worldview and (2) address real world issues and situations while ultimately pointing the way to Christ. Merit Theatre Company & Orchestra presents "The Sound of Music." We had seven performances over the course of two weekends, serving hundreds of patrons. 0 36467 Merit Theatre Company & Orchestra presents "A Very Merit Christmas." Our Christmas production is performed twice over one weekend, providing a warm welcome to the Christmas era to hundreds of patrons. 0 22098 Merit Theatre Company & Orchestra presents "Sound of Music" at the Ark Encounter. This one-time special performance was for the organization's Christmas party. 0 11716 70281 Benjamin Iocco Founder, President & Co-Artistic Director 24 0 0 0 Kaitlyn Iocco Founder, Vice President & Co-Artistic Director 24 0 0 0 Tiffany Winkler Secretary 5 0 0 0 Rebekah Powers Treasurer 5 0 0 0 Arnie Forman Director 5 0 0 0 Matt Dentino Director 10 0 0 0 Mia Armelli Director & Resident Choreographer 10 0 0 0 Rachel Cobbs Director 10 0 0 0 Benjamin Price Music Director & Conductor 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 KY Kaitlyn Iocco 3350 Easton Lane Burlington KY 41005 8597573419 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NONE NONE 1 X 236 5945 16785 1030 9565 33561 19191 867 11638 45518 66842 144056 19427 6812 28423 46548 76407 177617 177617 19427 6812 28423 46548 76407 177617 1 0 0 0 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED Form 990-EZ, Header, Line B Needed to include the "Building Fund" as an asset on the return. Form 990-EZ, Part I, Line 16 Description;Amount^Advertising and Promotions;3795|Costumes Props Materials and Sets;20935|Insurance;1971|Concessions;659|Licensing;5075|Miscellaneous;4844^Total;37279^ Form 990-EZ, Part II, Line 24 Description;EOY Amount^Building Fund;5300^Total;5300^ To whom it may concern: The letter is in response to the late filing of the 2023 tax form for Merit Theatre Company (EIN #: XXX-XX-XXXX). We respectfully request that any late filing penalties be waived regarding the filing of the organization's tax return. It was our belief that the appropriate returns had been filed and received by the IRS. Merit Theatre Company was working with a volunteer CPA in early 2024 whom we assumed had taken care of the filing while there was a transition in hands of duties for our organization, but evidently, he had failed to file them. We found this out in February 2025, much to our dismay. Upon discovering this, we have taken steps to ensure the return is filed. We sincerely hope that the IRS will understand that this situation was an isolated instance and allow for a reduction or waiver of potential penalties for this issue. We would also ask that you consider that this organization is essentially a volunteer organization. There are no paid officers or board of directors. Therefore, any penalties assessed against the organization will take funds directly away from the funds used to support the mission of the organization. You can see from the small size of the organization that such a penalty would have a large impact on the ability of the organization to fund its operations. In addition, we would also request that you consider the prior filing history of the organization. The organization has a history of filing its prior tax returns on time. Therefore, we believe that this shows good evidence that we try to file our tax returns on time and will continue to do so. Seeing how this error happened, we plan to take charge of making sure that all future tax returns are filed on time. Merit Theatre Company will have a system in place to make sure that any future tax returns are filed on a timely basis by accountability with our board of directors. Therefore, for all of the above reasons, we respectfully request a waiver of the penalties for this tax return. Please let me know if you have any additional questions regarding this issue. Thank you for your consideration, Rebekah Powers Treasurer, Merit Theatre Company