An anti-choice group based in Texas, Pro-Life Revolution, is proclaiming that it has 'caught' the IRS in a taped phone call. On its
website it proclaims in 72 font type "IRS Caught on Tape" then doesn't actually say what it has 'caught' them in, other than the IRS giving the group direction as to what constitutes grounds for tax exempt status.
They seem to think being told to "keep their faith to themselves" is a breach of their Constitutional rights.
The group applied for 501c3 status and after two years was granted it, but according to the taped phone call it seems the IRS instructed them as to what they needed to do in order to qualify for and maintain that status.
From the legal group which is representing the anti choice group:
In the recorded phone conversation, an IRS agent lectures the president of the organization about forcing its religion and beliefs on others and inaccurately explains that the group must remain neutral on issues such as abortion.
So their complaint seems to be that they were 'harassed' with a phone call which explains what the status depends on. Isn't that awful? A government employee explaining things to you. The horror. Obviously they know the tax code better than an IRS employee.
With the 'targeting' of conservative political groups, this case is getting a bit of attention, otherwise an explanatory phone call from the IRS probably would have gone completely under the radar. The group obviously thinks the IRS has done something wrong and has referred this to a legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund.
They seem to think that being told they can't proselytize and intimidate women at abortion clinics is not educational, has crossed the Constitution and deprived them of their free speech rights. Of course, the IRS is perfectly within their rights telling them so.
The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” said Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”
Actually yes, if you want tax exempt status you do have to abide by the conditions set forth in the, you know, tax exempt status.
The IRS grants tax exemptions to religious, educational, and/or charitable organizations. In January 2011, Pro-Life Revolution, which operates from Texas under all three purposes, filed an application for tax-exempt status with the IRS.
Four months later, the IRS sent a letter requesting “more information” and an explanation of how the organization’s activities are educational or charitable even though IRS rules specify that an organization need only operate for “one or more” of the three exempt purposes. President of Pro-Life Revolution Ania Joseph nonetheless replied and answered the IRS’s questions.
In March 2012, Joseph received a call from IRS Exempt Organization Specialist Sherry Wan, who told her that, in order to obtain a tax exemption, “You cannot force your religion or force your beliefs on somebody else…. You have to know your boundaries. You have to know your limits. You have to respect other people’s beliefs.” The IRS has approved applications for tax exemption for pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood and Life and Liberty for Women.
Maybe because Planned Parenthood respects other people's beliefs and doesn't force you to have an abortion?
Here are some quotes from the (probably covertly recorded) phone call by the IRS agent:
In a May 2011 letter to the pro-life group, Wan took issue with their prayer and evangelism efforts.
“It appears that some of your activities, conducted or plan to conduct, may be neither educational nor charitable in nature no matter how sincere of your religious belief or how important of your viewpoint,” Wan wrote.
She specifically mentioned “carrying out prayer and evangelization at abortion clinic sites.”
It was a warning she also made in the recorded phone conversation.
“You cannot force your religion or force your beliefs on somebody else,” Wan said. “You have to respect other people’s beliefs, other people’s rights and not, you know, use some kind of confrontation.”
She also admonished the pro-life group’s efforts to reach out to women.
“You reach out to a woman, you can’t do that,” Wan said.
“What the IRS is doing here is unconstitutional – attempting to tell an organization that it could not advocate its viewpoint and still be considered educational and gain a tax exemption,” attorney Stanley told Fox News.
Actually, I don't think the Constitution guarantees tax exempt status, but the ADF and "Pro Life Revolution" is quick to wave the Constitution flag based on their interpretation of it.
Here is the phone call: