Emails Prove that IRS Head Ignored
"Dirty Money" from Liberal Unions
While Persecuting Conservatives!
The official at the center of the IRS tea
party scandal once dismissed complaints that labor unions were not
reporting millions of dollars in political activities on their tax
forms, according to an email obtained by The Daily Caller News
Foundation.
In 2007, Lerner responded directly to a
complaint that some major labor unions reported completely different
amounts of political expenditures when filing with the IRS and the
Department of Labor.
At the time of the email, Lerner was the Director of Exempt Organizations at the IRS.
Lerner wrote, “We looked at the information
you provided regarding organizations that report substantial amounts of
political activity and lobbying expenditures on the DOL Form LM-2, but
report little to no political expenditures on the Form 990 filed with
the IRS.”
Don Todd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) at the time the email was sent, confirmed
seeing Lerner’s email and remembering similar complaints at the time.
OLMS oversees labor union financial disclosures within the Department of
Labor.
“The laws never been enforced,” Todd told
The DCNF. “The IRS was telling us it would cost more to enforce the law
then they would collect.” In 2006, the year leading up to Lerner’s
email, the national headquarters for the AFL-CIO reported no direct or
indirect political expenditures with the IRS on their 990 form, leaving
the line 81a blank. That same year, the AFL-CIO reported $29,585,661 in
political activities with the Department of Labor. Also in 2006 the Teamsters Union reported no
political expenditures with the IRS while at the same time reporting
$7,081,965 with the Labor Department. Again in 2006, Unite-Here reported no political activity with the IRS and $1,451,002 with the Labor Department. In 2005, the National Education Association
also reported no political expenditures with the IRS while at the same
time reporting $24,985,250 with the Labor Department.
Labor union political spending overwhelmingly
benefits Democrats. Todd told The DNCF Lerner may have been playing
favorites. Lerner has been accused of singling out tea party groups
applying for tax-exempt status. Lerner acknowledged in the 2007 email, “The
definition of political campaign activity required to be reported on
Form LM2 coincides with the definition of political campaign activity
expenditures required to be reported on Form 990.” But she did offer some possible reasons for
the discrepancies. “The Form LM-2 does not separate this reporting from
the reporting of lobbying expenditures,” she wrote. “Furthermore, even
if section 501(c)(5) labor organizations were required to report their
lobbying expenditures, the amount required to be reported on Form LM-2
includes activity, such as attempting to influence regulations, that is
not required to be reported as lobbying, as the IRS limitations apply to
legislative lobbying.”
Lerner conceded, “Having said that, we did
see some instances that raised concerns and we referred that information
to our Dallas office to determine whether examination is warranted.” It
does not appear any further investigation was conducted. The Bush administration mandated more
detailed disclosure requirements for labor unions, but they were relaxed
by the Obama administration’s Labor Department.
An IRS spokesman told The DCNF the agency had no “immediate comment” on the matter.
Read more at http://lastresistance.com/7114/emails-prove-irs-head-ignored-dirty-money-liberal-unions-persecuting-conservatives/#EurkYgfBkZH5uvzb.99
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