Steve Kelley repeats a right-wing LIE. Obama NEVER ordered, used or accepted help from the IRS for any political retribution. That was an outrageous Faux “News” fake story.
The law on which the IRS regulations for non-profit 501c(4) corporations are deemed tax exempt is based states that the organization must be EXCLUSIVELY for charitable or community benefit. The IRS regulation written in 1959 to implement the statute states that such organizations must be PRIMARILY charitable for social welfare of the community and NOT POLITICAL.
Lois Lerner, head of the Cincinnati office where the events occurred, immediately ordered the events stopped when she learned of them, but likely did cover up after the fact. A Republican, she took office in 2001, also under George W. Bush, and also resigned in response to pressure from conservatives.
It is likely that this was a low-level bungling by people looking for shortcuts to isolate and identify POLITICAL groups applying for a designation, the authorizing statute for which, requires that they be EXCLUSIVELY social welfare agencies. In 1959, WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL, the IRS under Eisenhower issued enabling regulations (that remain in effect) changing the term from EXCLUSIVELY to PRIMARILY. Agencies have the right to issue rules within the statutory guidelines, but not to change them.
And if you don’t think there is a difference between EXCLUSIVELY and PRIMARILY, then try telling your wife that when you promised in your wedding vows to be EXCLUSIVELY faithful, it meant PRIMARILY.
Can anyone tell me with a straight face that Tea Party groups or Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS SuperPAC (also a 501c(4)) are not primarily political? [You do understand, do you not, that the “P” in PAC stands for “political”?]
That said, Rove got approved. EVERY SINGLE TEA PARTY group got approved.
Steve Kelley repeats a right-wing LIE. Obama NEVER ordered, used or accepted help from the IRS for any political retribution. That was an outrageous Faux “News” fake story.
The law on which the IRS regulations for non-profit 501c(4) corporations are deemed tax exempt is based states that the organization must be EXCLUSIVELY for charitable or community benefit. The IRS regulation written in 1959 to implement the statute states that such organizations must be PRIMARILY charitable for social welfare of the community and NOT POLITICAL.
Lois Lerner, head of the Cincinnati office where the events occurred, immediately ordered the events stopped when she learned of them, but likely did cover up after the fact. A Republican, she took office in 2001, also under George W. Bush, and also resigned in response to pressure from conservatives.
It is likely that this was a low-level bungling by people looking for shortcuts to isolate and identify POLITICAL groups applying for a designation, the authorizing statute for which, requires that they be EXCLUSIVELY social welfare agencies. In 1959, WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL, the IRS under Eisenhower issued enabling regulations (that remain in effect) changing the term from EXCLUSIVELY to PRIMARILY. Agencies have the right to issue rules within the statutory guidelines, but not to change them.
And if you don’t think there is a difference between EXCLUSIVELY and PRIMARILY, then try telling your wife that when you promised in your wedding vows to be EXCLUSIVELY faithful, it meant PRIMARILY.
Can anyone tell me with a straight face that Tea Party groups or Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS SuperPAC (also a 501c(4)) are not primarily political? [You do understand, do you not, that the “P” in PAC stands for “political”?]
That said, Rove got approved. EVERY SINGLE TEA PARTY group got approved.
Only one group got rejected and it was liberal.