The latest load of crap from the IRS:
The NAACP did not violate the conditions of its tax-exempt status when its chairman gave a speech that criticized President Bush, according to a newly released letter from the Internal Revenue Service to the civil rights group.
[snip]
In his speech, Bond said of the Bush administration: “They preach racial neutrality and practice racial division. They’ve tried to patch the leaky economy and every other domestic problem with duct tape and plastic sheets. They write a new constitution of Iraq and they ignore the Constitution here at home.”
Unlike some of my collegues, I do not believe this investigation was politically motivated. Non-proft organizations, specifically 501(c)(3)’s, bring loads of cash. Cash that’s tax free to the receiving organization, and deductable by the donors. If any 501(c)(3) organization busts it’s non-profit status because they’re pushing the envelope with their political activity, there’s an easy source of revenue for the folks at the IRS. Donations are now taxable, and deductions are disallowed. All The Service has to do is collect the tax due. Fire off a few notices, and poof - instant revenue. To the IRS, it’s free money.
In my professional opinion, the IRS got this one wrong. The NAACP, as well as many right leaning ‘non-political’ non-profit organizations, blur the line between ‘voter education’ and advocacy to the point where it’s unrecognizable. The Service is too lax in their enforcement of this statute, on both sides of the political spectrum.
I’m really not surprised the ruling came down like this. The Service is run by human beings, can you imagine the backlash, browbeating and in extreme cases, phyisical threats they’d receive had they deciced otherwise? Somewhere in this process, someone must have calculated the additional tax revenue they’d collect, and decided the costs outweighed the benefit.
(via Tax Prof Blog)
So let me get this straight. The NRA and other organizations have to pay taxes because they have a political stance and make statements about politicians based on factual information, but the NAACP can spew baseless garbage like that against the highest ranking politician in the country and not pay a cent? I’ll bet they’re not subject to Campaign Finance Reform laws, either.
And since when did the IRS give a damn what people thought about them? They shouldn’t care one iola about public opinion, they’re not elected officials. That’s like BATFE worrying about what New Yorkers would think if they filed charges against Bloomberg.
Daniel - I don’t know the organizational structure of the NRA, but I’m guessing that most of their political activities (like endorsing/rating candidates) are contained within a 501(c)(4) entity. They’re specifically set up for PACs, and I’m just guessing here - that NRA ILA is one of those types.
The entity we call the NRA is a 501(c)(3). If you notice, all of the other NRA officials are very careful on what they say in the political arena. They keep their comments limited to 2A issues.
The IRS is scared to death of Je$$ie Jack$on and the NAACP or there are way too many blacks working there. Maybe that’s why nothing ever gets done at the IRS, too many black slackers. Yes that is a racist statement but then i’m tired of the PC BS and am ready to buck it hard. They both have violated every rule for a 501c tax exemption. Let some ‘white’ organization try it. Then again, there are no white organizations allowed in the country so they can’t have a 501c.
While I disagree with most of the racial parts of your statement, Scrapiron, you do make a point that I’ve felt always existed but could never be uttered publicly without something happeneing such as Mell Gibson’t little dilema:
Black people can be as racist as they want and it’s acceptable. Black comedians can make fun of white people as viciously as they want, everyone just chuckles. They can have an NAACP. And politicans are still afraid to put an end to certain out-lived programs (affirmative action, voting rights act, etc.) for fear of being labeled at the least ‘not a friend of blacks’ and at the worst ‘racist’. I think that while racism still exists, it’s shrunk to the point where all this stuff is oppressing NON-black people. And it’s given some black people an extreme sense of entitlement, and when something doesn’t go just right a knee jerk whipping out of the ‘Race Card’. Most black people I’ve befriended think of the NAACP is
starting to head down the wrong path toward misrepresenting them.
Don’t forget….people of ALL races are capable of racism.