loader
Page is loading...
Print Logo Logo
generic_insight_detail

IRS Turns A Blind Eye to Unions’ Political Expenditures


The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) scandal regarding the targeting of conservative political groups took another turn this week. As email traffic from the embattled Lois Lerner continues to surface, recent emails demonstrate that the IRS (and Ms. Lerner) knew of drastic discrepancies between the sums labor unions were reporting on their Department of Labor form LM-2 and the same unions Form 990 required by the IRS. It appears Ms. Lerner turned a blind eye to such discrepancies (including that the Teamsters Union reported no political expenditures to the IRS, but reported $7,081,965 on its LM-2 and the National Education Association similarly reported no political expenditures to the IRS but reported $24,985,250 on its LM-2). One may recall that part of the justifications for targeting certain conservative groups was the fact that they were involved significantly in political expenditures, activity the IRS deemed might impair or jeopardize tax-exempt status. Now adding fuel to the fire, it appears there was not necessarily a level playing field, as the traditionally Democratic supporting unions were not subject to the same scrutiny. Fox News provides additional coverage of this issue here.


RELATED ARTICLES

Any hope for right-to-work in Michigan?

February 20, 2012 | Labor and Employment

Welcome to the Barnes and Thornburg Labor Relations weblog

November 28, 2011 | Labor and Employment

Subscribe

Do you want to receive more valuable insights directly in your inbox? Visit our subscription center and let us know what you're interested in learning more about.

View Subscription Center
Trending Connect
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to use cookies.