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Aneristic Illusions / IRS Targets Tea Party
« on: May 15, 2013, 01:39:46 pm »
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/us-usa-tax-irs-idUSBRE94B08I20130514?feedType=RSS&&dlvrit=992637
To sum up: Groups applying for 501(c)(4) status (tax exempt) with the words "patriot" or "tea party" received extra scrutiny from the IRS. A lot of it.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/05/irs_tea_party_investigations_the_internal_revenue_service_s_targeted_conservative.html
Naturally, this has blown the fuck up. So much so that it's all politics and knee-jerking. So I bring this up here, where we might be able to look at it rationally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#501.28c.29.284.29
A 501(c)(4) covers Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees. The tax exemption for 501(c)(4) organizations applies to most of their operations, but contributions may be subject to gift tax, and income spent on political activities - generally the advocacy of a particular candidate in an election - is taxable. The law allows Section 501(c)(4) organizations to self-declare and hold themselves out as tax-exempt; they do not have to obtain any approval from the Internal Revenue Service, though they may. Its primary purpose cannot be election-related and cannot overtly support political candidates.
My thoughts:
1) It seems obvious that since the Tea Party is a de facto political organization, then scrutiny should be used when one files for a 501(c)(4), as there is a higher than normal probability of it being used primarily for election-related uses.
2) The scrutiny as evidenced above is overly harsh, and most likely falls outside of standard practices.
3) Don't most Tea Party people claim not to be Republicans?
4) Didn't some newspaper prove that most of the tea party was founded and funded by the Koch brothers, which would underscore the potential overt political use of the 501(c)(4)? I couldn't find it through a quick search.
5) If they could simply self-declare, it seems odd that they would report it, as if they were trying to get messed with...
No conclusions, but this seems both curious and well-timed.
To sum up: Groups applying for 501(c)(4) status (tax exempt) with the words "patriot" or "tea party" received extra scrutiny from the IRS. A lot of it.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/05/irs_tea_party_investigations_the_internal_revenue_service_s_targeted_conservative.html
Quote
That’s easy to believe. A typical letter looked like the one sent to the Ohio-based Liberty Township Tea Party—35 questions, most of them with multiple sections. Question 3: "Provide details regarding all of your activity on Facebook or Twitter." Question 5 asked for biographies of “each past or present board member, officer, key employee, and members of their families,” to check whether any of these people might run for office, or might have filed a 501(c)(4) request for somebody else. Question 12 asked for a tally of all activity ever engaged in by the group, by percentage, adding helpfully that the “total of all activities should equal 100 percent.” Question 34 asked for “copies of articles printed or transcripts of items aired” if the Tea Party had been covered by the media.
Naturally, this has blown the fuck up. So much so that it's all politics and knee-jerking. So I bring this up here, where we might be able to look at it rationally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#501.28c.29.284.29
A 501(c)(4) covers Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees. The tax exemption for 501(c)(4) organizations applies to most of their operations, but contributions may be subject to gift tax, and income spent on political activities - generally the advocacy of a particular candidate in an election - is taxable. The law allows Section 501(c)(4) organizations to self-declare and hold themselves out as tax-exempt; they do not have to obtain any approval from the Internal Revenue Service, though they may. Its primary purpose cannot be election-related and cannot overtly support political candidates.
My thoughts:
1) It seems obvious that since the Tea Party is a de facto political organization, then scrutiny should be used when one files for a 501(c)(4), as there is a higher than normal probability of it being used primarily for election-related uses.
2) The scrutiny as evidenced above is overly harsh, and most likely falls outside of standard practices.
3) Don't most Tea Party people claim not to be Republicans?
4) Didn't some newspaper prove that most of the tea party was founded and funded by the Koch brothers, which would underscore the potential overt political use of the 501(c)(4)? I couldn't find it through a quick search.
5) If they could simply self-declare, it seems odd that they would report it, as if they were trying to get messed with...
No conclusions, but this seems both curious and well-timed.
