Paul L. Caron
Dean





Monday, November 14, 2016

The IRS Scandal, Day 1285:  After Six Year Delay And One Court Order, IRS Denies Two Of Three Tea Party Applications For Tax-Exempt Status

IRS Logo 2Washington Times, After Years of IRS Delay, 2 Tea Party Groups Denied Tax-Exempt Status:

Nearly seven years after it applied to the IRS for nonprofit status, the Albuquerque Tea Party has finally been given a decision: Denied.

The tax agency, under orders from a federal judge, is belatedly tackling the remaining tea party cases that it delayed for years, and so far the tea party isn’t doing well. Only one of the three groups in the case was approved, and the other two, including Albuquerque, got notices of proposed denials last week.

The applicants will have a chance to appeal, but the denials aren’t sitting well with the groups, whose attorney said it’s more evidence that the IRS continues to single out the tea party for abuse. “It is clear that we still have an IRS that is corrupt and incapable of self-correction,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, which represented a number of tea party groups in a case against the tax agency.

The one group that was approved was Unite in Action, a Michigan-based organization that first applied for tax-exempt status more than six years ago. The Albuquerque Tea Party and Tri Cities Tea Party from Washington state were notified of proposed denials.

Still to come is a decision on Texas Patriots Tea Party, a group that is part of a separate class-action lawsuit out of Ohio. A judge in that case ruled late last month that the IRS was likely violating the group’s First Amendment rights by delaying its application and ordered the tax agency to process and decide on the application.

The IRS, which declined to comment on the new decisions, admitted in court that it did subject the tea party groups to intrusive scrutiny, singling them out because of their political viewpoints and forcing them to go through hurdles that other groups didn’t face.

Jay Sekulow (American Center for Law and Justice), Continuing the Fight Against IRS Corruption in Federal Court:

As we continue our fight at the ACLJ against the lawless, unconstitutional Obama Administration’s IRS targeting of grassroots conservatives, we are achieving important victories.

But the fight also continues in federal court to ensure justice for all 38 of our clients from 22 states across the country. We must not stop fighting the IRS corruption until there is true justice and assurances that no American will ever be targeted by the IRS for his or her beliefs ever again.

Three of our remaining clients have received determinations from the IRS in recent weeks after a significant victory in which a federal judge ordered the IRS to issue determinations within 30 days.

Michigan-based Unite in Action – after waiting for more than six years – has been approved by the IRS.

Two other clients – Albuquerque Tea Party from New Mexico and Tri Cities Tea Party from Washington State – received proposed denials regarding their applications. The lengthy delays in receiving these determinations underscores the continuing problems inside the Obama Administration’s IRS.

It is clear that we still have an IRS that is corrupt and incapable of self-correction. We're pleased Unite in Action has finally received its approval after lengthy delays. We're now in the process of reviewing the proposed denials in the other two cases as we aggressively move forward with our federal lawsuit against the IRS to ensure it is bound by the U.S. Constitution and the law protecting the fundamental freedoms of speech and association that serve as the bedrock to this great nation.

As we continue fighting against the Executive lawlessness in federal court, please sign our petition to join the fight – for freedom and for the Constitution.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/11/the-irs-scandal-day-1285after-six-year-delay-and-one-court-order-irs-denies-two-of-three-tea-party-a.html

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Comments

Anyone know of any liberal or progressive group that applied for tax-exempt status that waited 6+ years? Do we have a Guiness Record here that coincidentally (and maliciously) only affected conservative groups?

Posted by: MM | Nov 15, 2016 1:21:20 PM

Good.

Posted by: Scott | Nov 15, 2016 6:39:46 AM

Surprise surprise, the IRS is still engaged in illegal behavior.

They used the process as punishment and as opposition research for the Democrat party and now they deny groups, which was their plan the entire time.

Posted by: wodun | Nov 14, 2016 1:03:04 PM

The IRS, along with the DoJ and EPA, are a large component of the "swamp" Trump allegedly plans to drain.
The problem is, the current admin from top to bottom is corrupt. Until The Mafia Don is gone, the lawlessness will continue.

Posted by: Gallagher | Nov 14, 2016 9:07:08 AM

Did the IRS explain its decisions in these 2 cases?

Posted by: Jim Lindgren | Nov 14, 2016 8:03:03 AM