2008 December 10 — The Rancho Cordova Post

VSP Tax Appeal to be Decided by Supreme Court

by Michelle Ventress on December 10, 2008 · 2 comments

VSP Vision Care’s five-year long legal battle to preserve its tax-exempt status is finally reaching a climax. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide Jan. 9 whether or not they will hear the case, officials said Tuesday. “We feel we have a very strong case,” said VSP spokesman Pat McNeil. “There’s a $1 trillion not-for-profit industry this could impact.”

Rancho Cordova-based VSP has a 2008 revenue estimated at $3.3 billion. The company serves more than 55 million members in the United States and Canada. The debate began in 2003 when the Internal Revenue Service ruled that VSP must pay taxes even though it is a not-for-profit organization. Earlier in the year, VSP appealed an appellate court decision upholding the IRS ruling and hired Dean Kenneth Starr to head up the legal battle. Starr is a former Whitewater special prosecutor and is now a professor at Pepperdine Law School. Starr petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case last November.

December 10, 2008

FLC Among Fastest Growing Community Colleges

Folsom Lake College has again been recognized as one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the U.S., according to a report from the national trade publication, Community College Week. Folsom Lake College was the seventh fastest-growing community college with 5,000-9,999 students, according to the publication’s review of Fall 2006-Fall 2007 enrollment data, with the college showing a 15.2% increase in enrollment. Folsom Lake College was ranked 10th the previous year.