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The trouble began shortly after Engelbrecht founded True the Vote, which trains election volunteers and aims to root out voter fraud; and King Street Patriots, a group with ideals similar to the Tea Party. Both sought tax-exempt status from the IRS in July 2010.
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Within months of the groups filing for tax-exempt status, Engelbrecht claims she started getting hit by an onslaught of harassment: six FBI domestic terrorism inquiries, an IRS visit, two IRS business audits, two IRS personal audits, and inspections of her equipment manufacturing company by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Texas environmental quality officials.
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All the while, the IRS tax-exempt applications seemed to languish. Engelbrecht says the IRS requested additional information from True the Vote five times, requiring thousands of pages of documentation. Engelbrecht estimates she's spent more than $100,000 in attorney and accountant fees to process the IRS requests. With its tax-exempt status in limbo, she says True the Vote had to return a $35,000 grant and cannot effectively fundraise.
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Engelbrecht's attorney, Mitchell, says the IRS process for conservative groups was relatively painless, often taking just a few months, until about 2010 when there was an abrupt shift: simple questions became intrusive, lengthy interrogations requiring professional legal help. Applicants sometimes had to spend tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, they lost revenue, and in some cases, got so discouraged that they gave up on tax-exempt status altogether.
The goals of those who undertake this behavior are obvious. They effectively pour quicksand on the group's movement. They can't fundraise, they are stuck with legal bills, time is wasted dealing with the armies of lawyers, and some just choose to die. Meanwhile, the candidate behind these tactics is successful in part because these groups are in quicksand. It's illegal, but that can be sorted out another day. Just win the election now, sort out the rest later - that's pretty much the attitude with the Obama group.
The trouble began shortly after Engelbrecht founded True the Vote, which trains election volunteers and aims to root out voter fraud; and King Street Patriots, a group with ideals similar to the Tea Party. Both sought tax-exempt status from the IRS in July 2010.
...
Within months of the groups filing for tax-exempt status, Engelbrecht claims she started getting hit by an onslaught of harassment: six FBI domestic terrorism inquiries, an IRS visit, two IRS business audits, two IRS personal audits, and inspections of her equipment manufacturing company by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Texas environmental quality officials.
...
All the while, the IRS tax-exempt applications seemed to languish. Engelbrecht says the IRS requested additional information from True the Vote five times, requiring thousands of pages of documentation. Engelbrecht estimates she's spent more than $100,000 in attorney and accountant fees to process the IRS requests. With its tax-exempt status in limbo, she says True the Vote had to return a $35,000 grant and cannot effectively fundraise.
...
Engelbrecht's attorney, Mitchell, says the IRS process for conservative groups was relatively painless, often taking just a few months, until about 2010 when there was an abrupt shift: simple questions became intrusive, lengthy interrogations requiring professional legal help. Applicants sometimes had to spend tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, they lost revenue, and in some cases, got so discouraged that they gave up on tax-exempt status altogether.
The goals of those who undertake this behavior are obvious. They effectively pour quicksand on the group's movement. They can't fundraise, they are stuck with legal bills, time is wasted dealing with the armies of lawyers, and some just choose to die. Meanwhile, the candidate behind these tactics is successful in part because these groups are in quicksand. It's illegal, but that can be sorted out another day. Just win the election now, sort out the rest later - that's pretty much the attitude with the Obama group.
Why can't an organization effectively fund-raise if its tax-exempt status isn't solid? Can't pick up a phone and ask for a donation? Can't get a list from the state Republican Party of donors, and tell them your agenda is to protect the Republican Party's interests at the polls by training poll watchers to observe and to challenge voters at the polls, and that you need money to do this?
Yes, the IRS engaged in profiling to make their job easier, and profiling is not permitted, and everyone who let the profiling occur deserves to be punished. What will really be interesting is if Congress acts in any way whatsoever to remove tax-exempt status from organizations like MoveOn.org or Crossroads that are clearly political organizations by any definition of "political". And yes, unions that engage in political activity also need to be scrutinized in depth. Any political activity should be performed by political organizations. Any charity can form a separate political organization to act on its behalf, but whose activities and moneys will be strictly separate from the charity's.
It's illegal, but that can be sorted out another day. Just win the election now, sort out the rest later - that's pretty much the attitude with the Obama group.
What's interesting is how many libs and Democrats are perfectly okay with this kind of behavior. The attitude seems to be, when it comes to the GOP the ends justify the means, even if the means are illegal.
People like to say Nixon was a crook, but Obama makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout.
When the IRS was targeting the conservative groups remember they were asking for membership and donor information. Remember, if you contributed or are a member maybe you are on the list.
What's interesting is how many libs and Democrats are perfectly okay with this kind of behavior. The attitude seems to be, when it comes to the GOP the ends justify the means, even if the means are illegal.
People like to say Nixon was a crook, but Obama makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout.
Obama supporters are shortsighted and are down with the use of force to get their way. They better agree with "everything" Obama does, everything.
Everyone agrees that there are government abuses and waste I don't care who is in power. Do people really want the IRS to be used as the weapon of the white house?
And now they are hiring a bigger army of IRS workers. This is so good for the union.
Obviously those in power don't want to make it easy for a group to have influence on trying to make the voting process more secure. I mean perish the thought.
There is no doubt we would have been far more effective in 2012 if we would have been in financial position to expand. If the government’s goal was to limit us, they succeeded.
Unannounced audits to my private businesses are literally just what they sound like. We didn’t get so much as a text message that someone would be showing up at our company. When an auditor was on the premises, normal work routines shut down, every possible object was subject to inspection. And of course fines, fees and mediation all require time and cash. It still astounds me to this day that after nearly 20 years in private industry, I’d never seen an audit or agent until 2010, when I applied for non-profit status for two grassroots groups.
Not sure what's worse - the crimes committed here or the fact that half of the population is OK with this behavior.
These are the counts for which True the Vote is taking legal action against the IRS...
Count One: Seeks recognition of True the Vote as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization pursuant to 26 USC § 7428. Count Two: Seeks damages and injunctive relief from the IRS and IRS employees and agents, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), for violation of True the Vote’s constitutional rights by virtue of the actions of the government in unlawfully targeting and delaying recognition of True the Vote’s exempt status. Count Three: Seeks damages and injunctive relief against the IRS and IRS employees, pursuant to 26 USC § 7431, for their unlawful intrusions into True the Vote’s activities by requiring the filing of voluminous materials with the IRS, then unlawfully inspecting and potentially disseminating the information.
voter fraud my a$$, they didn't want me to vote and i'm a citizen non-felon with the same rights as other legal voters.
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