Exhaustive new report finds that, despite what the conservatives would have you believe, the IRS targeted both liberal and right wing groups seeking a tax exempt status.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

A federal watchdog investigating whether the Internal Revenue Service unfairly targeted conservative political groups seeking tax-exempt status said that the agency also scrutinized organizations associated with liberal causes from 2004 to 2013. 

The findings by the Treasury Department’s inspector general mark the end of a political firestorm that embroiled the I.R.S. in controversy, led to the ouster of its commissioner and prompted accusations the tax collection agency was being used as a political weapon by the Obama administration. 

The exhaustive report, which examined nine years worth of applications for tax-exempt status, comes after a similar audit in 2013 found that groups with conservative names like “Tea Party,” “patriot” or “9/12” were unfairly targeted for further review. 

The new report found that the I.R.S. was also inappropriately targeting progressive-leaning groups. While the investigation does not specify the political affiliations of the groups, names that were flagged included the words “Progressive,” “Occupy,” “Green Energy,” and Acorn — the acronym for the now defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. 

A spokeswoman for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration noted that the report makes no characterization of the political leanings of any of the groups.

To be honest, while I appreciate that this report has come out, we ALREADY knew all of this years ago.

Almost from the second that the conservatives were pissing themselves with outrage that the IRS was "targeting" them, many news sites were publishing information which completely refuted their faux outrage.

And the fact is that the Right Wing media undoubtedly knew that it was all bullshit, but they also knew their audience was made up of drooling slack jawed morons who were never going to look for alternative information sources and would prove easy to manipulate into a frenzy.

What's more is that this report will not change a single mind because the idea that the government was out to quash the conservative movement fees into their confirmation bias, and nothing will rattle that cage.

In news I was too busy to cover yesterday, that "veteran's group" that Donald Trump did a fundraiser for loses its nonprofit status.

Courtesy of the AP: 

The Internal Revenue Service revoked the nonprofit status of the veterans benefit organization that hosted and sold tickets to a foreign policy speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump aboard a retired U.S. battleship, The Associated Press has learned. The group's endorsement of Trump at the event also could raise legal problems under campaign finance laws. 

Trump's campaign did not respond to questions from the AP about whether it was aware that the IRS had revoked the nonprofit status of the Veterans for a Strong America, which sold tickets to Trump's event for up to $1,000 as a fundraiser. The IRS issued its decision Aug. 10, citing the group's failure to file any tax returns for three consecutive years, according to IRS records reviewed by the AP. 

The group's chairman, Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said the organization was appealing the IRS decision. He would not provide AP with copies of any tax returns, which would show how much money the group has collected over the years and how it spends its money. By law, such records are supposed to be available to the general public for inspection. 

"We disagree with the IRS determination letter," Arends told the AP in an interview. He appeared alongside Trump on Tuesday night on the ship.

"We disagree?" Doesn't he mean "I" disagree?

Gee I wonder if the Right Wing will suggest that this is yet another example of Obama's IRS hit men coming after conservative groups due to their ideologies, or if this smells a little too shady for even them to touch with a ten foot pole?

After 18 months Rep. Darrell Issa finally releases his report which finds, hold on for a shocker folks, NO connection between the White House and the IRS "scandal." What?

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) wasted enormous congressional resources over the last 18 months trying to inflate the IRS "scandal" into a mountain. The release Tuesday of his final, petulant report on the affair marks what may be its final decline into a mouse. 

The bottom line: Contrary to his assertions in countless appearances on Fox News, there's no evidence that the Obama White House directed -- or indeed was involved in any way -- in the supposed targeting of conservative nonprofit groups for special scrutiny by the IRS. There's no evidence that "tea party" groups were exclusively targeted, as opposed to tax-exempt "social welfare" organizations from across the political spectrum. 

The evidence set forth in the report, which was issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's GOP majority without sharing it first with the Democratic minority, instead depicts an IRS struggling to apply complicated rules for nonprofits engaging in political activity, all without guidance from Congress. 

Issa launched his investigation last spring with the charge that the IRS had screened c-4 applications for words such as "tea party" in their names in an effort to deprive conservative organizations of a tax exemption.

Of course that turned out to be bullshit as the report  reveals that the IRS also applied scrutiny to various liberal groups seeking the c-4 exemption as one of the keywords they were looking for was "progressive."

In fact the ONLY group applying for the exemption, who did not receive it, was a group called Emerge America, which trains Democratic women to run for office.

So in other words there was a wild goose and Darrell Issa spent millions of taxpayer money to chase it around for a year and a half. 

And let's not forget that Issa wasted similar amounts of taxpayer money in his "Fast and Furious" and Benghazi investigations.

God what a tool.

Strapped for cash, small Alaska town considers taxing churches.

Courtesy of KTUU:  

The Nome City Council is moving forward with a plan to end tax exemptions for 40 local nonprofits, churches and other charities in the Seward Peninsula city. 

With the city budget projected to run a deficit, the council spent a one-hour work session Monday looking at ways to increase tax revenue. After much debate, the council agreed to move forward with a draft ordinance removing sales tax exemptions from nonprofits and churches. 

City Finance Director Julie Liew estimates the move could bring in about $300,000 a year. Nome is a regional hub city of about 3,800 people. 

If the city council decides to go with this plan they still have to get public feedback first, and there will be several more meetings before it is adopted.  However if it is adopted I do believe it would make this small Alaska town the first to tax churches in their communities.

If this idea catches on there is no telling how far it could spread, or how much money it might brig in.

On that last point we actually do have some idea.

Yeah, it seems like an idea that absolutely SHOULD catch on, and catch on soon.

P.S. Since we're talking about Nome, Alaska did you know it got its name due to a clerical error?

The IRS is about to start taxing churches that engage in electioneering. And here you thought the conservatives were upset about the so-called "IRS scandal."

Courtesy of Christian News:  

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reached a settlement with a prominent atheist organization, agreeing to crack down churches and religious groups for infringements of its prohibition against ‘electioneering.’ 

As previously reported, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, sued the IRS in 2012, asserting that many non-profit religious organizations have been “blatantly and deliberately flaunting … electioneering restrictions,” but the government has not enforced its rules pertaining to the matter. 

According to the IRS website, “Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The prohibition applies to all campaigns including campaigns at the federal, state and local level. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.” 

However, while candidates may not be promoted or opposed, churches and ministries that obtain 501 (c)(3) status may speak out on political and moral issues and/or generally encourage others to vote. 

“Under federal tax law, section 501(c)(3) organizations may take positions on public policy issues, including issues that divide candidates in an election for public office,” the IRS outlines. “However, section 501(c)(3) organizations must avoid any issue advocacy that functions as political campaign intervention. Even if a statement does not expressly tell an audience to vote for or against a specific candidate, an organization delivering the statement is at risk of violating the political campaign intervention prohibition if there is any message favoring or opposing a candidate.”

Well damn!

If you are like me you undoubtedly think this kind of thing should have been happening for years now, but I think we know that the Religious Right is going to lose its collective mind.

The conservatives are already on the warpath against the IRS, and this will surely push them over the edge, with renewed calls to abolish the agency.

All in all it is going to be great theater, though I wonder if they will actually ever be able to remove a church's tax exempt status without rioting in the streets?

And since this comes as a result of efforts from an Atheist organization? Well they really could not hate us anymore than they already do anyway.

Proof that, despite Right Wing fantasies to the contrary, there is NO religious persecution in America.

As all of you know the idea that the religious community is under attack by liberals, and that their rights are being trampled on repeatedly, is a constant theme on conservative and religious websites and news outlets.

However Robert Boston of Salon has listed all of the special rights afforded to religious organizations in this country, and why the truth is quite the opposite.

Here is that list:  

• Religious groups enjoy complete tax exemption, a very powerful and sought-after benefit. 
• Unlike secular nonprofit groups, houses of worship are not required to apply for tax-exempt status. They receive it by mere dint of their existence. 
• Houses of worship are assumed to be tax exempt as soon as they form. This exemption is rarely examined again and is revoked only in cases of extreme fraud (such as someone claiming that the entity he or she has formed is a church when it’s really a for-profit business). Houses of worship are free from the mandatory reporting obligations that are imposed on secular nonprofit groups. For example, secular groups that are tax-exempt must fill out a detailed financial form and submit it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) every year. This document, called a Form 990, must be made available for public inspection. Houses of worship and ministries are not required to fill out and submit these forms. 
• Religious entities are not required to report their wealth to any government agency. The question often comes up about how much money houses of worship raise every year or what the value of the land they hold is. There is no way of knowing this because they are not required to tell anyone. 
• The IRS has the power to audit individuals and secular groups at the merest suspicion of wrongdoing or financial irregularities. Houses of worship, by contrast, are very difficult for the IRS to audit. This is so because Congress passed a special law governing church audits that requires the IRS to show heightened scrutiny before initiating such procedures. In addition, church audits must be approved by highly placed IRS officials. 
• Religious groups enjoy a loud and robust public voice. They own television and radio stations all over the country (all tax exempt, by the way). They own publishing arms, and they maintain various outreach sites on the Internet. The ability of religious groups to proselytize and spread their theology is limited only by the imaginations of their leaders. 
• Across the country, religious groups own a network of hospitals, secondary schools, colleges, social-service agencies, and other entities that often enjoy a cozy relationship with the government. Many of these institutions are subsidized directly with tax funds—even though they may promote religion. In recent years, religious groups that sponsor charitable services have seen themselves open to a host of new taxpayer assistance through the so-called faith-based initiative. 
• Religious groups are often exempt from laws that secular organizations must follow. A house of worship or a ministry can fire employees at will if those workers violate (or are merely suspected or accused of violating) some tenet of the faith. A religious school, for example, could fire a woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock. A corporation or a secular nonprofit would not be able to do this. In many cases, religious groups are free from following even basic laws designed to promote health, safety, and general welfare. Houses of worship are routinely exempted from laws designed to improve access to facilities for those with disabilities, for example. In some states, daycare centers and other facilities sponsored by religious groups are wholly exempt from routine inspection laws. 
• Many religious groups engage in extensive lobbying on Capitol Hill and in the state capitals. Under federal law, there is virtually no regulation of their lobbying activities. Federal law exempts from oversight “a church, its integrated auxiliary, or a convention or association of churches that is exempt from filing a Federal income tax return.” This means that, unlike other groups, religious organizations are not required to report the money they spend attempting to influence legislation or to register their lobbyists. In rare cases, some states have tried to impose minimal regulations, such as public financial-disclosure reports, on houses of worship. The religious groups often fight such laws and call them an infringement of their religious-liberty rights. 
• Many legislators are quick to placate religious groups and the clergy. The results of their lobbying campaigns are often successful. In the 1990s, when some religious groups began to complain about experiencing difficulties with zoning issues and the ability to build houses of worship where they pleased, Congress was quick to pass a special law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. This law essentially trumps local zoning regulations with a federal fiat—even though, for many years, zoning had been considered a matter best handled by local officials. 
• Religious groups are often treated with special deference in cases of suspected law breaking. Anyone who doubts this need not look beyond the experience of the Roman Catholic Church during the pedophilia scandal. A secular corporation that engaged in such a massive cover-up and acts of deception would have found its top leaders behind bars. Yet in that scandal, only a handful of relatively low-level clergy were held accountable. 

Boston tacks this disclaimer at the end of his list:

I have created this list not necessarily to criticize or call for changing these policies (although some of them are overdue for scrutiny) but to make the point that the leaders of religious organizations have very little reason to complain. Their position is an exalted one. They are well regarded by lawmakers, and their institutions are not only tax supported in some cases but are also beyond the reach of secular law. What they are experiencing is not persecution; it is preferential status. 

I have always been aware of the special rewards and privileges enjoyed by organized religions in this country, but I have to say that seeing them all listed out like this is making me sick to my stomach.]

All that, and STILL they demand more, while demanding that others have less. 

Atheist group is taking IRS to court to challenge the tax exempt status of religious organizations. Happy Holidays!

Courtesy of The New Civil Rights Movement:  

American Atheists and other secular groups are taking the IRS to court over what they say is the preferential treatment the tax-collection agency gives to religious organizations. 

Studies show that Americans subsidize religious organizations to the tune of an estimated $71 billion annually, in the form of tax-exemptions. “This is about equality,” American Atheists President David Silverman said in a statement. 

“This is about the U.S. government holding everyone to the same standard and giving the same rights to all. No exceptions. We are seeing religions getting preferential treatment by our government, a government that is supposed to serve us and respect us all as equals, and that’s wrong. It’s not what this country is about and it’s unpatriotic.” 

Dave Muscato, a spokesman for American Atheists, told Newsweek, “We find it discriminatory, so we’re suing. The way that this is set up, we all pay for it. We’re all supporting churches for what they do.” 

Because religious organizations are automatically granted a tax-exempt status and are not required to file forms that non-religious organizations must, American Atheists claim secular groups are unfairly burdened, while religious organizations have a fundraising advantage that includes not having to reveal their donors.

I know I am looking at this from a very prejudicial angle, but you have to admit American Atheists have a point. 

It is unfair to ask nonmembers of a religious organization to subsidize churches through their tax dollars, when often the churches themselves have money to burn.

Churches should pay their fair share, ESPECIALLY if they are going to dabble in politics, which is increasingly the case these days.  Not only that, but I think that the new Pope would agree with me on this topic.

Obama administration proposes new rules to rein in groups that are spending millions of dollars to hijack politics in this country. Tea Party heads to explode in 3..2..well you get the idea.

Courtesy of Accounting Today:  

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday they are issuing initial guidance regarding qualification requirements for tax-exemption as a social welfare organization under Section 501(c)(4) of the Tax Code after a scandal erupted earlier this year over claims that the IRS was targeting Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt status. 

The proposed guidance defines the term “candidate-related political activity,” and would amend the current regulations by indicating that the promotion of social welfare does not include this type of activity. The proposed guidance also seeks initial comments on other aspects of the qualification requirements, including what proportion of a 501(c)(4) organization’s activities must promote social welfare. The initial guidance is expected to be posted on the Federal Register later today. 

The Treasury is issuing the guidance in response to a recommendation in a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration on how the IRS selected inappropriate criteria for screening applications from tax-exempt status from various groups. Ahead of the release of the TIGTA report. Lois Lerner, the former head of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations, touched off a firestorm of criticism of the IRS after she disclosed in May that the agency was using terms such as “Tea Party,” “Patriot” and “9/12” to filter through applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status from conservative organizations. It later emerged that the IRS was also using terms like “progressive” and “Occupy” to filter out applications from liberal groups. Lerner was eventually forced out of the agency along with other officials such as former acting commissioner Steven T. Miller. 

His replacement, the current IRS acting commissioner Danny Werfel, has pledged to stop using so-called “BOLO,” or “Be on the Lookout,” lists, and to enable streamlined processes for tax-exempt status including allowing 501(c)4 organizations to self-certify themselves as tax-exempt until their applications have been examined. Meanwhile Congress has been grilling IRS officials at a contentious series of hearings and introducing legislation as recently as last week to reform the process further (see Congress Introduces Bill to Change IRS Reviews of Tax-Exempt Organizations). 

The TIGTA report recommended that the Treasury Department and the IRS chief counsel develop guidance on how to measure the primary activity of 501(c)4 social welfare organizations.

The whole kerfuffle over the IRS trying to determine who was gaming the system, which used key words like "Tea Party" and "Patriot" to identify groups that required extra scrutiny, would be completely unnecessary once these new guidelines are in place.

Then the conservatives could not accuse the IRS of targeting them, because the new rule changes would affect EVERY group who claimed to be a "social welfare group" but were in fact partisan smear merchants.

Of course, as you can imagine, this rule change has already sparked anger from one side of the political aisle: 

"The fact that the administration's new effort only affects social welfare organizations - and not powerful unions or business groups - underscores that this is a crass political effort by the administration to get what political advantage they can, when they can," said Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican. Some of the biggest spenders in the last election also expressed outrage at the proposal.

In my opinion ANY rule change that pisses off Darell Issa is a good rule change.

And remember there is NOTHING saying these groups cannot exist, that would be un-American, they simply cannot claim tax exempt status.