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Post by deepsea on May 11, 2013 7:50:50 GMT -4
Good thing I still have my foil hat? Best part is the obama admin blames Bush. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. IRS agents singled out dozens of organizations for additional reviews because they included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their exemption applications, said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups. In some cases, groups were asked for lists of donors, which violates IRS policy in most cases, she said. The agency — led at the time by a Bush administration appointee — blamed low-level employees, saying no high-level officials were aware. But that wasn't good enough for Republicans in Congress, who are conducting several investigations and asked for more. bigstory.ap.org/article/irs-apologizes-targeting-conservative-groups
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Post by RobMoore on May 11, 2013 8:45:58 GMT -4
Did the article say how this behavior came to light?
I know they didnt just up and apologize on their own. Was there a whistleblower?
I also find it all too suspicious that this incident is centered on one of the most important states when it comes to electoral votes, Ohio.
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Post by deepsea on May 11, 2013 9:11:01 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 10:41:04 GMT -4
A politically affiliated group can be tax exempt.....why?
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Post by deepsea on May 11, 2013 11:01:55 GMT -4
A politically affiliated group can be tax exempt.....why? Just like a Church.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 12:49:37 GMT -4
Thanks, I get it now.
I thought to be tax exempt, your organization needed to be a charitable organization...doing some type of social welfare for a specific targeted group....like the Red Cross after a disaster or Habitat for Humanity building a home....people working and sweating helping those in need. But after reading up on it a bit, I see why Tea Party groups can be tax exempt, and why not...it's like the NRA and the Heritage Foundation that are tax exempt, two groups that generate millions of dollars and seem to be in the news all the time...but at least they're not influencing any policy decisions that affect any of us, so why not give them a tax break.
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Post by deepsea on May 11, 2013 16:32:47 GMT -4
Thanks, I get it now. I thought to be tax exempt, your organization needed to be a charitable organization...doing some type of social welfare for a specific targeted group....like the Red Cross after a disaster or Habitat for Humanity building a home....people working and sweating helping those in need. But after reading up on it a bit, I see why Tea Party groups can be tax exempt, and why not...it's like the NRA and the Heritage Foundation that are tax exempt, two groups that generate millions of dollars and seem to be in the news all the time...but at least they're not influencing any policy decisions that affect any of us, so why not give them a tax break. Like the ACLU or Planned Parenthood................
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Post by freefallin on May 11, 2013 22:17:46 GMT -4
Unions are a non-profit and they lobby heavily, but think they will ever get audited? Or even targeted for an audit? Government workers are part of some of the largest unions in the country and they lobby for more government, more wages, less work, etc.
Tea Party wants the opposite... so who is the bad guy in the government's eyes and who deserves the oppressive audit?
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Post by georgej202 on May 11, 2013 22:53:13 GMT -4
Thanks, I get it now. I thought to be tax exempt, your organization needed to be a charitable organization...doing some type of social welfare for a specific targeted group....like the Red Cross after a disaster or Habitat for Humanity building a home....people working and sweating helping those in need. But after reading up on it a bit, I see why Tea Party groups can be tax exempt, and why not...it's like the NRA and the Heritage Foundation that are tax exempt, two groups that generate millions of dollars and seem to be in the news all the time...but at least they're not influencing any policy decisions that affect any of us, so why not give them a tax break. Get real man, ACORN was tax exempt. I do understand your allure to the democrat party but I am not sure how you can defend this administration. Everything that comes out of his mouth is half truth at best on down rite lies at worst. From your post you seem to be pretty intelligent, but sometimes I wonder. I would rather have tin foil on my head then to have it buried underground like you. George
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 23:27:10 GMT -4
Didn't I ask seriously upfront why a politically affiliated group should be allowed tax exemption?
Whatever way I asked google the question of political organizations that are tax exempt for a reference...the NRA and the Heritage Foundation came up as examples, why, I don't know, maybe google is a main stream liberal organization.
Bottom line...none of them, whether left of right should be granted tax exemption...period.
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Post by deepsea on May 12, 2013 7:17:21 GMT -4
Didn't I ask seriously upfront why a politically affiliated group should be allowed tax exemption? Whatever way I asked google the question of political organizations that are tax exempt for a reference...the NRA and the Heritage Foundation came up as examples, why, I don't know, maybe google is a main stream liberal organization. Bottom line...none of them, whether left of right should be granted tax exemption...period. And with that.............I have to agree!
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Post by tomc on May 12, 2013 20:16:25 GMT -4
Let's add churches to the tax base as well. They want to influence politics, tax 'em. Deficit problem solved.
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Post by freefallin on May 12, 2013 22:19:57 GMT -4
Didn't I ask seriously upfront why a politically affiliated group should be allowed tax exemption? Whatever way I asked google the question of political organizations that are tax exempt for a reference...the NRA and the Heritage Foundation came up as examples, why, I don't know, maybe google is a main stream liberal organization. Bottom line...none of them, whether left of right should be granted tax exemption...period. Look up 501(c)(4) organizations. This is where political action and lobbyist organizations are granted tax exempt status under the IRS code. Churches - Tom C, I wish you could see the finances I see of the churches I am involved with to see the good they do everyday with the funds they receive. These are real churches helping real people, not like the science fictions ones like scientology.
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Post by deepsea on May 13, 2013 6:23:27 GMT -4
Medis Matter? What the heck? mediamatters.org/Also agree with churches needing to be taxed.
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Post by RobMoore on May 13, 2013 7:56:21 GMT -4
Freefalling, you missed the part about influencing politics.
Churches and other tax exempt groups should surrender their tax exempt status the moment they use their first amemdment right to political speech. That is the price they should pay for that status, they don't have a say in politics.
Also, any tax exempt group that supports a politician or party campaign should lose it as well. This is either monetarily or encouraging their members to vote a certain way.
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Post by bluecrabber on May 13, 2013 8:49:09 GMT -4
My dues and contributions to the NRA are NOT tax deductible. The part of the NRA that fights for our Second Amendment rights is NOT a tax exempt organization.
However, the NRA does have a tax exempt activity established in 1990 to promote gun safety and education:
In 1990, NRA made a dramatic move to ensure that the financial support for firearms-related activities would be available now and for future generations. Establishing the NRA Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization, provided a means to raise millions of dollars to fund gun safety and educational projects of benefit to the general public. Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible and benefit a variety of American constituencies, including youths, women, hunters, competitive shooters, gun collectors, law enforcement agents and persons with physical disabilities.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 9:09:27 GMT -4
Taken from another web site, but it sheds good insight:
Before the right-wing-nuts, the Scarboroughs, Limbaughs, Robertsons etc, et al;, hyperbolize this IRS thing to death, please allow me to set the arena factually. You know "FACTS", things both the left-wing-nuts and right-wing-nuts avoid in their never ending complaints and whinings and plea's for sympathy. The IRS was investigating ONLY GROUPS THAT USED THE 501-C TAX EXEMPT STATUS on their returns. So folks who DON"T PAY TAXES were being investigated. No one's "Right to free speech" was or is being violated. The WHITE HOUSE HAD NO INVOLVEMENT. These are TAX DODGERS that the IRS was and is investigating. THAT IS THE IRS'S JOB! For all that I disagree with Limbaugh about, he does pay taxes. But framing this argument behind how "only right wing groups were singled out" as Morning Slow (Joe) said this morning is outrageous and a lie. No ones right to "Free Speech" was violated, only questions were asked as to "Why aren't you paying taxes?" So enough of the one poster here who thinks everything is a "liberal bias cover-up" of everything he doesn't comprehend. No more of the "Socialist agenda" of the White House. All the IRS was doing is investigating the OPPORTUNIST'S who put a "Patriot" or "Tea Party" in the title of their TAX EXEMPT organizations title. And really I don't care what you want to spout off about, but PAY YOUR G-d**n TAXES! If you want a 501-C tax exempt status, don't be a big cry baby when the IRS asks "WHY"?
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Post by deepsea on May 13, 2013 16:25:02 GMT -4
I pulled this from NPR so this is a approved obama news site. The Internal Revenue Service's scrutiny of conservative groups went beyond those with 'tea party' or 'patriot' in their names — as the agency admitted Friday — to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to 'make America a better place to live,' " The Wall Street Journal reports. Citing "new details of a government probe," the Journal adds that "the investigation also revealed that a high-ranking IRS official knew as early as mid-2011 that conservative groups were being inappropriately targeted." That was about a year before then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman assured Congress that his agency was not singling out conservative groups. There had been complaints from some of those groups during the 2012 presidential campaign that their applications for tax-exempt status were being unfairly questioned. As we reported, IRS official Lois Lerner apologized on Friday to groups that were singled out for additional IRS scrutiny during the campaign. She said low-level IRS workers in Cincinnati had initiated the reviews. Over the weekend, though, details from the yet-to-be-released investigation cast a different light on the story. According to Reuters: "Exactly who at the IRS made the decisions to start applying extra scrutiny was not clear from the findings, which were contained in portions of an investigative report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Expected to be made public this week, the report was obtained in part by Reuters over the weekend as a full-blown scandal involving the IRS scrutiny widened, embarrassing the agency and distracting the Obama administration." And Politico reported Saturday that it had been told by a congressional source that, "senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew employees were singling out conservative groups for extra scrutiny as early as 2011, according to a watchdog agency's report." Now the Journal is weighing in with its reporting. The newspaper adds that "the new disclosures are likely to inflame a widening controversy over IRS handling of dozens of applications by tea-party, patriot and other conservative groups for tax-exempt status." On Sunday, as we reported, some Republican lawmakers called for a full investigation of IRS actions. www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/13/183588713/irs-targeted-additional-conservative-groups-probe-showsIsn't it a crime to use the powers of the office to target your opponents?
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Post by deepsea on May 13, 2013 16:30:07 GMT -4
Taken from another web site, but it sheds good insight: Before the right-wing-nuts, the Scarboroughs, Limbaughs, Robertsons etc, et al;, hyperbolize this IRS thing to death, please allow me to set the arena factually. You know "FACTS", things both the left-wing-nuts and right-wing-nuts avoid in their never ending complaints and whinings and plea's for sympathy. The IRS was investigating ONLY GROUPS THAT USED THE 501-C TAX EXEMPT STATUS on their returns. So folks who DON"T PAY TAXES were being investigated. No one's "Right to free speech" was or is being violated. The WHITE HOUSE HAD NO INVOLVEMENT. These are TAX DODGERS that the IRS was and is investigating. THAT IS THE IRS'S JOB! For all that I disagree with Limbaugh about, he does pay taxes. But framing this argument behind how "only right wing groups were singled out" as Morning Slow (Joe) said this morning is outrageous and a lie. No ones right to "Free Speech" was violated, only questions were asked as to "Why aren't you paying taxes?" So enough of the one poster here who thinks everything is a "liberal bias cover-up" of everything he doesn't comprehend. No more of the "Socialist agenda" of the White House. All the IRS was doing is investigating the OPPORTUNIST'S who put a "Patriot" or "Tea Party" in the title of their TAX EXEMPT organizations title. And really I don't care what you want to spout off about, but PAY YOUR G-d**n TAXES! If you want a 501-C tax exempt status, don't be a big cry baby when the IRS asks "WHY"? YUP and Benghazi was caused by a YouTube Video
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Post by Frank on May 15, 2013 7:37:46 GMT -4
Die hard libs! You gotta love their blind loyalty!!
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