SENIORS SETTLE WITH THE TAX MAN

The American Association of Retired Persons settled a dispute with the IRS by shelling out $135 million to the feds. At issue were back taxes on the money that the nation's largest senior citizen organization made from royalties on insurance, mail-order prescription drugs and other products that used the AARP name in their marketing. The AARP stressed that its payment did not imply any admission that it would owe taxes on such income in the future. Nevertheless, the settlement sent a chill through the non-profit world, where the AARP scheme is an oft-used money-maker.