IRS launches audit of teachers union

Atlanta Journal Constitution.com ^ | 11-25-03 | AP

[Salvation]

IRS launches audit of teachers union

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The IRS is auditing the nation's largest teachers union, scrutinizing an organization that works energetically to elect candidates but files tax returns reporting zero political expenditures from member dues.

The National Education Association promised Monday to cooperate, but its president, Reg Weaver, said the union "will not be silenced" by the audit or the conservative law firm that requested it.

NEA spokeswoman Kathleen Lyons said the audit began last week. "It will be a complete, thorough audit," she said. "The IRS has not singled out any particular aspect of our activities."

Weaver and Lyons predicted the association would be exonerated, contending the IRS found no problems when it audited the NEA's 1993 tax return. The IRS is prohibited by law from publicly discussing audits of specific taxpayers.

The NEA has tax-exempt status as a union but must report political expenses "direct and indirect" on its tax return. Some of those expenses could be considered taxable by the IRS. It defines a political expense as "one intended to influence the selection, nomination, election or appointment of anyone to a federal, state, or local public office."

The Associated Press, which first reported on the NEA's tax returns three years ago, has reviewed the NEA's filings from years 1993 through 1999 and hundreds of pages of internal NEA documents. The records showed the 2.7 million-member union spent millions of dollars to help elect pro-education candidates, produce political training guides and gather teachers' voting records.

A July 1999 strategic plan, for instance, stated the union budgeted $4.9 million for the 2000 election for such things as "organizational partnerships with political parties, campaign committees and political organizations."

Part of the money, the document said, would be spent on a "national political strategy" which involved "candidate recruitment, independent expenditures, early voting, and vote-by-mail programs in order to strengthen support for pro-public education candidates and ballot measures."

The documents were gathered by Landmark Legal Foundation, a conservative law firm that has filed complaints with the IRS seeking an audit and a criminal investigation of whether the NEA evaded taxes.

Landmark received the NEA documents as part of a lawsuit it filed that forced the IRS to disclose records identifying members of Congress who had asked the tax agency to audit political opponents.

Mark Levin, president of Landmark, hailed the IRS audit and said Monday the NEA "has diverted tens of millions of dollars in membership dues to influence political campaigns, for which it hasn't paid a wooden nickel in taxes."

"It appears that the NEA may finally be called to account for its failure to tell the government -- and its members -- how much it is spending on politics," he said.

Weaver, the NEA president, said his organization will "vigorously defend our constitutional right to speak to our members about the role of politics in public education."

Union members "have a right to be involved in politics," he said. "Our organization will not back down in the face of those who want to bully us out of our rights as Americans."

Marcus Owens, a tax attorney who headed the IRS tax-exempt organizations division, said it was not unusual for the agency to wait three years to act after Landmark's 2000 audit request.

He said an audit of a major organization like the NEA could only be conducted if high-level agents were available. |

[Salvation]

For your information and comments.

[Salvation]

**A July 1999 strategic plan, for instance, stated the union budgeted $4.9 million for the 2000 election for such things as "organizational partnerships with political parties, campaign committees and political organizations."**

Notice this didn't say "with the dims"!!

[NorseWood]

Hey, I might volunteer a hundred extra bucks in taxes just to help pay for the audit. It would be worth it!

[doug from upland]

Fine, be involved in politics. But any money that is spent involved with politics is taxable. Get them for 7 years.

[Rodney King]

The records showed the 2.7 million-member union spent millions of dollars to help elect pro-education candidates,

Theres a nice little bias there. Pro teachers union and pro education are not neccessarily the same thing.

[Salvation]

**Get them for 7 years.**

7 x 7 x 7 ad infinitum

How many elections have they been involved in?

[Salvation]

**Pro teachers union and pro education are not neccessarily the same thing.**

So true!

[JSteff]

"Fine, be involved in politics. But any money that is spent involved with politics is taxable. Get them for 7 years."

Do you mean "get them" as in go back over 7 years or "get them" as in send them all to jail for 7 years?
I hopefully agree with both.

[mickie]

Great news......made my day.

NEA have gotten away with murder for years! (just a figue of speech, hahaha)

[doug from upland]

I was thinking 7 years of taxes and penalties, but the 7 years in jail is excellent.

[Southack]

Nice job!

[ccmay]

My mom was a teacher. She wouldn't join the union, and they made her life hell until she quit teaching.

I hope they suffer.

-ccm

[Jumper]

Dismantling the web of illegal campaign contributions that the Democrat relies on is critical to forcing that political party into becoming a legitimate representative in the two party systems. Just before the 2000 election, there was some political strategy talk of cleaning up “Unions and Associations, along with Corporate Fronts” involved in channeling funds illegally into democrat coffers. The NEA and NTA both oppose Education Initiatives for vouchers and alternatives to strict public education all the while mirroring the democrat party’s support for abortions, gay educations, anti-Christian bias, etc.

[HardStarboard]

>>>most costly and wasteful scam machine ever known to exist<<<

I want to see them forced to register as a Democrat Party Political Action Committee (PAC). This is exactly what they are!

[vladog]

Be interesting to see if this goes any where. Or will the Dem-O-Rats ride to the rescue.

[JSteff]

"You're goin' DOWN."

Sadly I think not. This is the Republicans chance to show how "merciful" and "fair" they are. This is being used as leverage for the coming elections. Note that in the article even the NEA knows this will take a while. ("It will be a complete, thorough audit," she said. "The IRS has not singled out any particular aspect of our activities.") Meaning they will look at everything.

They (IRS) will be breathing down their necks through the election cycle to make sure it is all done by the IRS's (not the governments- they are their own government) rules.

As long as the NEA stays cool their will be nothing happening... maybe a little slap on the hands for "minor improprietis" and "bookkeeping errrors".

I do love it though that the Pubies are finally using the government like the dems do when they hold the purse strings. Now wasn't there talk by Bush when he was getting, and after he was elected of "review" of the tax system and consideration of a "fairer" way of doing it?

He was settting them up way back then. "Play by my rules boys or we just might dissolve or defund the IRS".. or at least scale it way back. Remember, the IRS is another goverment administrative agency.

They live and die by the party that holds the purse strings. For now that is us.

[JSteff]

"7 years in jail is excellent"

Only if it is ALL of them... since it was, in effect, a conspiracy by all of them to evade the tax code.

[Libloather]

Union members "have a right to be involved in politics," he said. "Our organization will not back down in the face of those who want to bully us out of our rights as Americans."

Avoiding taxes makes having rights a whole lot more fun!

[ALOHA RONNIE]

Could the...

...IRS vs. JESSE JACKSON Match...

...be next..?