ALEC Hit With IRS Complaint Filed By Common Cause

[meow2u3]

Source: Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Open government advocates accused a conservative legislative group Monday of falsely claiming tax-exempt status while doing widespread lobbying.

Advocacy group Common Cause said Monday it had filed an IRS complaint accusing ALEC of masquerading as a public charity. ALEC is formed as a nonprofit that brings together lawmakers and private sector organizations to develop legislation and policy.

ALEC says its work is not lobbying.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/23/alec-irs-complaint-common-cause_n_1445175.html

---

If the IRS could bring down Capone, they can bring down ALEC and/or the Koch Bros.

[freshwest]

1. From your mouth to the Director's ears! Kudos to Common Cause of WA.

We know that last budget (they tried to ram through after midnight and shutting the Democrats out of the process) was written by ALEC and would have hurt so many people.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. gd to see A.L.E.C. getting Caponed

much deserved.

[AlbertCat]

3. ALEC says its work is not lobbying.

Of course not!

They just write legislation advocating their corporate members for conservative congresscritters and senators who don't have time to do so (even tho' it's their job) because of hectic fundraising schedules.

[EC]

4. And ALEC allows people into office

who haven't a clue of what to do when they get there...but gee, that's okay, they just need a place holder to pass the laws written for them by ALEC...and gee, if they don't know what's in that law they just passed, well, who cares? They did as they were told.

[HereSince1628]

6. Yes, there is certainly a game afoot that focuses on useful idiots

If we didn't know better, we'd be inventing notions of a small group of very rich folks who wanted to promote their self-interests by corrupting the system of representative government.

[freshwest]

10. +1

[freshwest]

5. Oh, yes, they didn't do it for the money. No money changing hands at all!

Worst thing about these guys who push privatization and stealing the Commons, is that they act as if the money is from the sacred 'private' sector. People hear private and their eyes glow with the idea that their taxes will go down.

It's all tax monies when it's all said and done, and some people are getting wise to that fact. These corporations get contracts to do public work, then claim 'propriety secrets' to stop oversight of the monies. And they have an interest in 'starving the beast' except for what goes into their pockets.

When they get a contract, the loyalty of their employees is to them and not the intent of the needs being handled or the taxpayers. Whenver they are asked to submit to civil rights or other laws and be open about what they do, it's 'none of your business' to regulators.

Suddenly, the tax dollars become 'private property' and verboten to taxing, accounting, or any other regulation or restraint. It's a shell game, a con, they are all crooks of the worst kind and they are gaming the system at the cost of the health and lives of the people whose money they took.

[annabanana]

9. What YOU said! . . .n/t

[pacalo]

21. That's a homer, freshwest!

--- take a bow ---

[freshwest]

22. Thanks. pacalo. Did I mention I don't like those guys? Yup, don't like 'em at all! LOL!

[TygrBright]

7. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of sleazeball grifters! n/t

[annabanana]

8. OH yeah. . .

Hit 'em right where it hurts. They are 100% a lobbying group and should be treated as such.

[starroute]

11. ALEC has been getting accused of lobbying since the 1970s

As long as it remained obscure, it was able to evade scrutiny. But hopefully this time it's too visible and the charges will stick.

[lonestarnot]

19. It's already moving to morph! Watch 'em!

[drm604]

12. How can anyone say that's it's not lobbying and be intellectually honest?

They take money from corporations.

They encourage specific legislation (heck, they write it!).

Isn't that pretty much the definition?

[Icicle]

13. Yes, they do write it...

...to fit the whims of their corporate members.
A legislator in Florida was caught submitting one of their bills with their letterhead and etc still on it.

http://www.commonblog.com/2012/01/31/alec-exposed-for-24-hours/

Legislators should write their own laws, dealing with the needs of the residents of their state. That's what we elect them to do. Instead, we get airheads who are owned by the special interests.

[quote]"When Florida Rep. Rachel Burgin (R- 56) introduced a bill in November calling on the federal government to reduce taxes for corporations (HM 685), she made an embarrassing mistake. Rep. Burgin was introducing a bill she had received from the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council. A bill written by the Tax Foundation, corporate members of ALEC’s ‘Tax and Fiscal Policy task force” and a group founded and funded by major corporate interests, including the billionaire Koch brothers.



All ALEC model resolutions contain a boilerplate paragraph, describing ALEC’s adherence to free market principles and limited government. When legislators introduce one of ALEC’s bills, they normally remove this paragraph. Sometimes (but only sometimes) legislators will make some slight alterations to anALEC model bill,perhaps to include something specific to them or to their state. Rep. Burgin didn’t do that. Instead she introduced a bill that was the same as the model word-for-word, forgetting even to remove the paragraph naming ALEC and describing its principles.

As a Texas Governor might say; “Oops!”" [/quote]

[cstanleytech]

14. Can the IRS go after everyone involved including those in elected officials? Like the rico act or

some other similar law that they broke by being in bed with ALEC?

[midnight]

15. I'm sure it will be construed as a human error-blah blah blah! ALEC

and the koch boys will not see any trouble from this misunderstanding....

[ProudProgressiveNow]

16. ALEC =+ Evil Motives

They have mad life miserable for countless people all over the country.

[lonestarnot]

17. And Grassly wants to boycott corn from Iowa!

[lonestarnot]

18. So National Center for Public Policy is taking over ALECs voter suppression duties.

Last edited Tue Apr 24, 2012, 01:32 AM - Edit history (1)

And who's taking over the gun back away? Abramoff himself?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/24/maddow-unveils-alecs-replacement-the-national-center-for-public-policy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

[pacalo]

20. Nice going, Common Cause!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

23. Misleading headline and content. -- The filing of a complaint with the IRS is not an IRS complaint.

The complaint was filed by Common Cause. It is a Common Cause complaint.

The first part of the syllogism, "If the IRS could bring down Capone,"
does not mean that Common Cause can "bring down ALEC and/or Koch Bros."

Nothing requires the IRS to investigate. Nothing. Each and every one of us could file complaints with the IRS regarding ALEC and the IRS could still choose to do nothing.

[indypaul]

24. Not only is the 501(c)(3) status of ALEC questionable

but the membership dues paid by corporate and other business
entities could hardly meet the criteria of "ordinary and
necessary" in order to be deductible as a business expense.