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10/2/2012

Cause of Action Sues IRS for President Obama’s Tax Record Requests

CAUSE OF ACTION SUES IRS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA’S TAX RECORD REQUESTS

Where’s the transparency? IRS refuses to reveal information on whose taxes the President has requested

 

WASHINGTON – Federal government accountability group Cause of Action (CoA) today filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for refusing to release documents that would identify the names of individuals and businesses of which President Obama has requested tax records.

 

“Hiding behind a claim of privacy that does not stand up when you consider the commitment to transparency made by this Administration, the IRS has no grounds for refusing our request,” stated Karen Groen, Chief Oversight Counsel at Cause of Action. “American taxpayers deserve to know if the President has requested to see their tax information. I’d like to know if he wanted to see my tax returns, wouldn’t you?”

 

CoA filed a FOIA request in April for communications between President Obama and the IRS requesting the tax returns of either individuals or businesses. The IRS denied CoA’s request for the names of those taxpayers, obstructing the path to transparency that will help taxpayers know what is happening in Washington. Today, CoA filed suit against the IRS demanding the production of this request.

 

The complaint filed today, along with our exhibits, can be found here.

 

 

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10/2/2012

Cause of Action v. IRS – Tax Returns Requested by President Obama

The following complaint was filed by Cause of Action on Tuesday, October 2, 2012.

COA v IRS Tax Returns

Exhibits:

Exhibits in CoA v IRS

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08/28/2012

The Washington Free Beacon: Report: 170 ACORN-affiliated groups still active

Read the full article here. Washington Free Beacon

“Cause of Action, a nonprofit government watchdog group, recently identified 174 active or rebranded ACORN affiliates, as well as organizations that share former ACORN staff. The groups shared the same physical location, leadership or staff, or tax ID number as old ACORN chapters, Cause of Action said.

 

At least two of the groups, Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA) and Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY), have received federal dollars. According to MHANY, it receives funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Fannie Mae. “It’s a serious concern because, as we stated in our letter to the IRS, it has been engaging in political activity,” Cause of Action executive director Dan Epstein told the Free Beacon. “We have concerns that these rebranded groups are using the same model that ACORN essentially trademarked: getting tax-exempt funds and using them for political purposes…”

 

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07/23/2012

Breitbart.com: Watchdog Group Calls on IRS to Investigate Re-Branded TX ACORN Branch

Read the full article here. Breitbart

“The latest, according to the taxpayer watchdog group Cause of Action, is ACORN’s former Texas chapter, which is using “a new name and a scheme to collect donations and divert them for political use in a way that abuses tax laws governing charitable organizations.” Cause of Action has called on the I.R.S. to formally investigate the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund (TOP ED) for funneling money to the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), the former ACORN chapter, that was used to fund political activity, like soliciting support for Democrats in Texas who are running for office like Mary Ann Perez, as reported by FOX News. This, according to Cause of Action, potentially violates the group’s tax exempt status, which forbids them from engaging in any direct political activity.

In a letter to the I.R.S., Cause of Action officials wrote that “TOP is the reconstituted ACORN in Texas,” and formed “after ACORN became subject to public scrutiny, and eventually filed for bankruptcy.” According to Cause of Action, ACORN “re-branded many of its state chapters in order that those organizations could continue pursuing ACORN’s goals…”

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07/19/2012

Fox News: Taxpayer watchdog calls on IRS to probe re-branded Texas ACORN branch

Read the full story here/ Fox News

“Cause of Action, a nonprofit taxpayer watchdog, charged in a letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration that the tax-exempt Texas Organizing Project (TOP), formed from the ashes of scandal-ridden ACORN, is using money funneled to it by a closely associated group called the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund for political activity.

The fund gave nearly 80 percent of its revenues — approximately $640,000 — to the advocacy group in 2010, leading Cause of Action officials to believe its reason for being is to raise charitable donations to send to TOP, which is permitted to fund political activity. TOP has used its website to solicit support for Mary Ann Perez, a Democrat running for state representative.

“Fiscal sponsorship [has allowed TOP and TOP ED] to use a loophole in the tax code to engage in improper political activities under the radar of the IRS,” Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action, said to FoxNews.com. “Cause of Action is asking the IRS to investigate these groups for potential abuses of their tax-exempt status, and to hold them accountable for any violations they find.”

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06/15/2012

National Journal: Watchdog Group Says IRS Not Monitoring Lobbying Coalitions

Read the full story here. National Journal

“The pro-transparency group Cause of Action is calling on a Treasury Department inspector general to investigate why, according to the group, the Internal Revenue Service is not overseeing lobbying coalitions.

CoA argues that these loose coalitions are spending money on lobbying but because they are not incorporated, they don’t have disclosure requirements or pay taxes. Saying that it wanted to “provide the public with a better understanding of the rules that apply to coalitions and to ensure that lobbying entities are paying taxes and are in compliance with IRS regulations,” CoA wrote the IRS in March asking for documentation showing how the agency monitors tax-exempt organizations’ lobbying ties.

“Cause of Action is concerned about the risk that lobbying coalitions are exercising political influence without paying taxes under the Internal Revenue Code,” CoA wrote in its request for documents. “In order to avoid the disclosure requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, many organizations are simply not incorporating…”

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06/14/2012

Cause of Action Demands Investigation of IRS’s Failure to Address Lobbying Violations

 

CAUSE OF ACTION DEMANDS INVESTIGATION OF IRS’S FAILURE TO ADDRESS LOBBYING VIOLATIONS

Lack of oversight of stealth lobbying uncovered by Cause of Action

WASHINGTON – Following an investigation into the oversight of lobbying disclosures, Cause of Action (CoA) uncovered that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fails to monitor activities that could violate tax-exempt statuses, prompting CoA to send a request for investigation to the Treasury Department Inspector General concerning the IRS’s lack of action.

On March 22, 2012, Cause of Action wrote to Douglas Shulman, Commissioner of the IRS, to inquire about the IRS’s monitoring of tax-exempt organizations that house lobbying coalitions. These coalitions, as has been revealed in numerous media outlets over the past several years, dodge the Lobbying Disclosure Act by existing as loosely organized groups which are not incorporated under the law.  Concerned that lobbying coalitions are exercising political influence without paying taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, CoA sought to ensure that lobbying entities are paying taxes and are in compliance with IRS regulations.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request Cause of Action submitted, on May 14, 2012, the IRS responded that it was unable to locate any documents relating to the tax-exempt status of unincorporated coalitions residing at tax-exempt corporations, their fiscal sponsors, or any investigations by the IRS into these organizations.

“The inability of the IRS to produce any documents on oversight or investigation into stealth or coalition lobbying points to a gross lack of accountability by the federal government,” stated Dan Epstein, Executive Director of Cause of Action. “The burden now lies upon the Treasury Department’s investigators to examine why the IRS has turned a blind eye to numerous coalitions that have the potential to lobby with tax-exempt dollars, which is a clear violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.”

On June 8, 2012, CoA sent a request for investigation letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) which states that “the IRS has failed to require lobbying coalitions to report their activities and the IRS has failed to conduct oversight over tax-exempt corporations that sponsor coalition lobbying without disclosing those activities. Moreover, the IRS, despite concerns by Congress and the media, has failed to conduct any investigations of lobbying coalition activities that may be inconsistent with the Internal Revenue Code.  As a result, we strongly request that you immediately investigate these matters.”

At the time of this release, CoA has not received a response from TIGTA concerning the request for investigation.

About Cause of Action:

Cause of Action is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that uses public advocacy and legal reform tools to ensure greater transparency in government, protect taxpayer interests and promote economic freedom. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.

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