The leader of a national group that provides financial support for nonprofit organizations has criticized aspects of the draft redesign of the Internal Revenue Service’s Form 990. The form is the primary financial reporting document for nonprofit groups, including private colleges.

In a telephone call today with reporters, Clara Miller, founder and president of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, which also advises charities on financial issues, said the draft Form 990 “distorts public understanding” of nonprofit groups by focusing on the compensation of higher-paid officials.

“We should eliminate the arbitrary focus on salary,” Ms. Miller said in prepared remarks.

The proposed revisions, which are still being considered by the IRS and are scheduled to go into effect in 2008, include more details about pay and benefits of top-paid officials, as well as more-prominent placement for that information.

Ms. Miller said the form implies that salary levels are “profligate” at nonprofit organizations, which struggle to attract and retain talented employees.

“Without context, this information will continue to be interpreted inaccurately by donors, journalists, and others who access Form 990 information,” she said. If the proposed disclosure of annual salaries of more than $100,000 “cannot be stopped entirely, it should be moved further back in the tax form.” —Paul Fain