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Complaints of IRS targeting by religious groups on the rise

LowDown

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Complaints of IRS targeting by religious groups on the rise - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

The number of religious groups reporting they were improperly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is increasing.

At least a half-dozen conservative groups say they received an unusual degree of scrutiny from the IRS, according to the Religion News Service, a non-profit news service operated out of the University of Missouri’s journalism school.

Earlier this week Rev. Billy Graham’s son made headlines with a letter to President Obama accusing the administration of targeting the Samaritan’s Purse charity and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in an attempt to intimidate the group.

Since then, the Catholics United Education Fund and the Christian Voices for Life have reported significant delays in their applications for tax-exempt status from the IRS.

The Coalition for Life of Iowa also said that it took unusually long to receive their tax exempt status, according to the Thomas More Society, a non-profit group focused on supporting pro-life causes.

At a House hearing investigating the IRS abuses on Friday, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) called attention to The Coalition for Life of Iowa’s complaint, citing one particular question that the group was asked by the agency.

“Their question, specifically asked from the IRS to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: ‘Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers. Would that be an inappropriate question to a 501 c3 applicant? The content of one’s prayers?” asked Schock of the IRS’s former acting commissioner, Steven Miller.

And Miller said he couldn't say, not knowing the context of the investigation. Which brings one to ask, under what conceivable context would such a question ever be appropriate for the IRS to ask?:roll:
 
It's simple, if you don't fall into lock step with the Obama administration you are targeted. You are put on Obama's hit list.
 
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The greedy bastards want ALL of us to pay through the teeth for all the inefficient, wasteful programs the FedGov has concocted.

$17 trillion of indebtedness is no small fry.
 
Seems to me the best way to solve this is make religious organizations non-profit rather than tax exempt.

Why should I have to subsidize religions? The mosque in my town uses the municipal services as much as any other business- why do I have to subsidize it by paying more?
 
It's simple, if you don't fall into lock step with the Obama administration you are targeted. You are put on Obama's hit list.

obama-hitler.jpg

Sieg Heil! Welcome to the Fourth Reich.
 
There is a solution to all of this. Tax religions like any other group. They should not be treated any better than any other corporation. Why should the government be deciding that a story about a zombie made of crackers and cheap wine is a religion over something like being a jedi? They want to complain their tax free status is not good if their asses are not kissed then screw them and we can have pure equality and some extra tax revenue also. In the end if we do not have tax exempt organizations like the church where we need to make sure they follow a special list of rules, then we have no reason to actually treat them any different from regular corporations.

The criminals in the church who use their special status to launder money and obstruct justice for things like child molestors should really not be sticking their heads out of their corrupt little holes.
 
Seems to me the best way to solve this is make religious organizations non-profit rather than tax exempt.

Why should I have to subsidize religions? The mosque in my town uses the municipal services as much as any other business- why do I have to subsidize it by paying more?

You do realize when we take away that status the people hardest hit will not be the muslims but rather the christian church?

Oh, and we should just tax them. Congress shal make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Not taxing them like any other business is doing exactly that.
 
Complaints of IRS targeting by religious groups on the rise - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room



And Miller said he couldn't say, not knowing the context of the investigation. Which brings one to ask, under what conceivable context would such a question ever be appropriate for the IRS to ask?:roll:

It appears that targeting by the IRS has been going on for quite some time. What I find revealing is that they have finally owned up to it. This is a good thing and hopefully after all is said and done it will be cleaned up and those responsible will be fired.
 
It appears that targeting by the IRS has been going on for quite some time. What I find revealing is that they have finally owned up to it. This is a good thing and hopefully after all is said and done it will be cleaned up and those responsible will be fired.

....and all who knew and condoned it.
 
It appears that targeting by the IRS has been going on for quite some time. What I find revealing is that they have finally owned up to it. This is a good thing and hopefully after all is said and done it will be cleaned up and those responsible will be fired.

How about sending them to jail. But that is not going to happen, Obama just promoted the person in charge of the tax exempt department, and he only asked the head of the IRS to resign because he was retiring anyway. Last Obama is standing in the way of a Special Commission with powers to investigate the IRS.
 
You do realize when we take away that status the people hardest hit will not be the muslims but rather the christian church?

Oh, and we should just tax them. Congress shal make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Not taxing them like any other business is doing exactly that.

No, the solution is to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS and then to clean house. If this means that lawbreakers go to jail, I'm fine with that because even in Cincinnati, where the IRS employees claimed that they were just doing their jobs, those individuals KNEW that they were doing wrong.
 
How about sending them to jail. But that is not going to happen, Obama just promoted the person in charge of the tax exempt department, and he only asked the head of the IRS to resign because he was retiring anyway. Last Obama is standing in the way of a Special Commission with powers to investigate the IRS.

It will not be up to the president who goes to jail. But if it is warranted then it should be done.
 
It will not be up to the president who goes to jail. But if it is warranted then it should be done.

Your right about the president not doing it, in fact he is standing in the way of others doing it, by not allowing a special counsel with all it's powers to get to the guts of this Obama scandal.
 
There is a solution to all of this. Tax religions like any other group. They should not be treated any better than any other corporation. Why should the government be deciding that a story about a zombie made of crackers and cheap wine is a religion over something like being a jedi? They want to complain their tax free status is not good if their asses are not kissed then screw them and we can have pure equality and some extra tax revenue also. In the end if we do not have tax exempt organizations like the church where we need to make sure they follow a special list of rules, then we have no reason to actually treat them any different from regular corporations.

The criminals in the church who use their special status to launder money and obstruct justice for things like child molestors should really not be sticking their heads out of their corrupt little holes.

You do realize that churches to a TREMENDOUS amount of charity work, yes?
 
You do realize that churches to a TREMENDOUS amount of charity work, yes?




That is a fact.

The Catholic Church and a lot of Protestant Churches do a tremendous amount of charity work which would otherwise not be done or would be paid for by taxpayers.

That's a pretty good reason to give some, but not all, churches tax exemptions.

Any 'church' which is really a money-making scheme should not have a tax exemption.
 
That's a pretty good reason to give some, but not all, churches tax exemptions.

Any 'church' which is really a money-making scheme should not have a tax exemption.




But anyone who tries to remove any church's tax exemption will quickly find that they are in a tough battle.

I don't believe that we will see many churches paying taxes anytime soon.
 
There is a solution to all of this. Tax religions like any other group. They should not be treated any better than any other corporation. Why should the government be deciding that a story about a zombie made of crackers and cheap wine is a religion over something like being a jedi? They want to complain their tax free status is not good if their asses are not kissed then screw them and we can have pure equality and some extra tax revenue also. In the end if we do not have tax exempt organizations like the church where we need to make sure they follow a special list of rules, then we have no reason to actually treat them any different from regular corporations.

The criminals in the church who use their special status to launder money and obstruct justice for things like child molestors should really not be sticking their heads out of their corrupt little holes.

I am not a religious man,however I do know churches do a lot of good with the donations they receive from their members.They feed and house the poor,offer free food to anyone no questions asked....I know this first hand, I've had to do it a few times.

Honestly your view of what they do is way off the mark.
 
I am not a religious man,however I do know churches do a lot of good with the donations they receive from their members.They feed and house the poor,offer free food to anyone no questions asked....I know this first hand, I've had to do it a few times.

Honestly your view of what they do is way off the mark.

Non profits do a lot of good too. But they aren't tax exempt.
 
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