Posted on 11/22/2015 8:05:28 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Don’t you love donating to causes you believe in? Don’t you love that warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that contributing to a worthy cause? And don’t you especially love that you can support whatever organization you choose anonymously? That last one is especially important given the news over the last few years that the IRS has been targeting conservatives with audits and denial of tax-free status for nakedly political reasons.
Well, if the IRS has their way, this may be a luxury that will soon go the way of the dinosaur. A new rule is proposing that non-profit organizations collect the “tax identification numbers†of all their donors who give over $250. For you and me, that means our Social Security numbers.
It’s hard to imagine a more chilling regulation on charitable giving. Would you be willing to enter your Social Security number into an internet donation form, knowing that the government will get to see it? Would you be willing to write that number down and mail it through the U.S. Post Office alongside a check? I wouldn’t.
This is part of the IRS’a continued efforts to reduce the reach and effectiveness of non-profit organizations. Many of you will remember the proposed regulations from last year that would have narrowly defined “social welfare†to shut down conservative organizations critical of the IRS. Through a massive grassroots activism campaign, FreedomWorks, along with other organizations, was able to stop the regulation by driving a record number of comments - over 150,000 - to defeat the rule. This new regulation is a resurrection of the same idea - identify and deter voters to causes the government doesn’t approve of.
In addition to the compliance cost of organizations having to keep track of all these numbers, the potential for civil liberties violations is huge. The Constitution guarantees us the freedom of association, but that freedom is compromised when the we know the government is watching us, especially when the watching is being done by an organization capable of inflicting punishment in the form of fines, audits, asset forfeiture, and general harassment.
The IRS has repeatedly demonstrated that it is not interested in protecting Americans’ freedom of speech, but that it would rather wield its power in a partisan, political way to punish its enemies and reward its friends. It is crucial that we stop any attempt at expanding the agency’s power to quash the free expression of the American people.
The comment period is open until December 16. Make sure you take the time to comment and let the IRS know that they have no right to demand your Social Security number for charitable contributions.
Don’t you find it strange, EV, that Cruz is a FairTax co-sponsor, and he is not promoting it?
What do you suppose is up with that?
He is promoting the elimination of the IRS, which is pretty much the same thing, isn't it?
No. That's an empty promise when his tax plan keeps the income tax going, and adds a Value-Added Tax, one of the most insidious forms of taxation known to man.
One good reason to lay about with a scythe on alphabet-soup agencies is that hundreds of thousands of 'Rats hide out there, burrowing in and feasting off the work of others while doing political oddjobs like Lois Lerner and James Hansen and Joe Wilson.
The only way to get rid of all the 'Rats without violating the Civil Service Act (and thus undoing all the illegal political organizing the 'Rats have done since the Klintonx came to power) is to shut down the agencies and subject all its employees to a general RIF. The agencies' responsibilities must be moved (if it is desired to keep them), and the "perps" left behind in the dust to go crying on their knees to their former Obamarrhoid masters.
Cruz has it right. The executive departments most loaded with 'Rats are the ones he has named for closure, and that's the right thing to do. Somebody has to delouse the government and return it to some semblance of political neutrality, and that includes the DoD.
Don’t you find it strange, EV, that Cruz is a FairTax co-sponsor, and he is not promoting it?Cruz is only a social conservative. Beyond that he's as much a RINO/liberal as the rest of DC Republicans.What do you suppose is up with that?
It's obvious his crony capitalist donors wrote his haphazard tax plan on cocktail napkins. His/their eliminated corporate taxes would be paid for off the backs of small business and their employees.
There is no defined profit in his plan, it's all taxable. A business owners earnings as well as employee's earings would be taxed 16% as a "business tax" and then taxed 10% again as individual.
His plan is a small business and jobs killer.
You know how I feel about the Fairtax...I'd take it over Cruz's plan in a heartbeat.
Ted Cruz is a fraud.
Plus I get 1% back on my Discover card
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Capital One pays 01.5% cash back on all purchases. I recently received a check from them for $907.75.
We have a 501(c)3 foundation. If this happens we will close the doors and sell the historic property.
http://www.thunderbirdfoundation.com
What’s the point?
yes, I am definitely going to be getting more gift cards at Freddie Meyers.....4x gas points is nothing to laugh at...but only if you use the full 35 gallons at the time.....we fill up and use extra gas cans to get the most we can...
Bttt!
Abolish the IRS and we'll have freedom like the Constitution lays out -
No way to black mail other politicians - a justices -
No record of where we work, how much we make - FREEDOM. No way to 'keep us in line'
Until 2016 folks!
You know, Lewis, I never thought I’d agree with you, ever!
HST, your points are well made, and I agree with you.
Cruz has not thought his “plan” through, and for whatever reason, he has not promoted the FairTax, even though he has been a co-sponsor since March 10, 2015!
Pretty obvious he has not done his homework on FairTax!
We will never be a truly free people so long as we have ANY FORM OF INCOME TAX!
AND,
We will never be a truly free people so long as we have an INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE!
The simple truth is that ALL FORMS OF INCOME TAX REQUIRE AN ENFORCEMENT ARM!
FairTax does not — the federal government will monitor the 50 state sales tax collection agencies, and individual Americans will NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH A FEDERAL TAX COLLECTOR!
Business owners will be required to keep pretty much the same records they keep today, and they will get paid for their administrative effort, as will the individual states.
What is not to like about FairTax, Senator Cruz? If you really want to abolish the IRS, the FairTax is the ONLY means to do so!
I am a Cruz supporter and also disappointed that he is not advocating for the Fair Tax. Income tax is an abomination.
You are absolutely correct, maine-iac7!
FairTax is about FReedom!
We will never be a FRee people so long as we have an income tax and an IRS!
The Democrat Party chilled my charitable to the bone. In fact, they killed it.
Really, the Left, with things like the Clinton Foundation, Ford Foundation, and all the myriad "non-profits" who network together tax-free, and see their endowments grow tax-free as they pay members of the elites to sit on their boards and be their trustees, would be the most affected.
A warning especially during the holidays. Be careful about who you donate to. Many are scams. Do your research. It is a fact that the EBT crowd and prison inmate’s baby mamas put various kid names on every mall Christmas trees they can find. I used to work next to the welfare office so have heard them talking about it. A family member, who’s a prison guard, hears the same from inmates and visitors. We’ve been burned by adopting an elderly lady at the nursing home when the workers were going through our presents saying they want this and that for themselves and their friends. Just be careful.
Uh, when you go to claim the charitable deduction on your tax return the government can find out to what organizations you donated.
This seems like a made up problem.
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