by Daniel Greenfield
“Some organizations that have celebrated the unspeakable acts of terror ... currently enjoy tax-exempt status in the United States"
The David Horowitz Freedom Center has made exposing pro-terror nonprofits abusing the tax system into a major focus. Now Congress is showing signs of a willingness to act.
Last month, Rep. Jason Smith, the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, sent a message.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement blasting organizations and U.S. universities for their statements, or failure to condemn statements issued by student organizations, of support for Hamas and the barbaric acts of terrorism committed against the Jewish people in Israel.
Chairman Smith said, “To say I am disgusted by statements of support for Hamas that we’ve seen in recent days is an understatement. Celebrating, excusing, or downplaying the horrific rape, torture, and murder of innocent people is the same thing as supporting violence, or even calling for it. Releasing such statements, or failing to condemn them, is unforgivable and runs counter to our values as a nation.
“Some organizations that have celebrated the unspeakable acts of terror that claimed the lives of 30 Americans and hundreds of Israeli men, women, and children currently enjoy tax-exempt status in the United States, and their statements call into question the academic or charitable missions they claim to pursue. University administrators, for example, have weaponized their institutions to attack speech and free inquiry as ‘violence,’ yet fail to condemn actual violence that threatens our way of life all while their institutions enjoy lucrative federal tax-exempt status.
The Wall Street Journal notes that, “Mr. Smith’s comments have more weight than most because he is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy. That includes policies governing nonprofit organizations, including colleges and universities as well as groups issuing statements and staging rallies throughout the U.S. Statements celebrating Hamas’s violence, Mr. Smith adds, “call into question the academic or charitable missions they claim to pursue”—in other words, their tax breaks.”
As we have repeatedly demonstrated, including in today’s article, supporting terrorists is inconsistent with tax-exempt status.
The illegal pro-terrorist activities of both JVP and IfNotNow, as well as many other groups in the anti-Israel network, reflects the refusal of the IRS to enforce the tax code against the Left.
The IRS had previously found that the tax code bans funding of anti-war groups or any organization whose “primary activity is the sponsoring of…protest demonstrations in which demonstrators are urged to commit violations of local ordinances and breaches of public order.”
Such organizations don’t “qualify for exemption under section 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Code.”
That means the groups engaged in illegal pro-Hamas protests, should lose their tax exempt status.
In a previous article, I argued that Congress could end the pro-terror tax code loophole.
These are only a few of the examples of IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups or those funded by them celebrating Hamas atrocities. This is in clear violation of the tax code which bars such activities.
IRS regulations specifically state that “exempt purposes may generally be equated with the public good, and violations of law are the antithesis of the public good”
Is supporting terrorists part of the public good? It’s not.
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is
an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and
Islamic terrorism.
Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/is-congress-ready-to-take-on-pro-hamas-nonprofits/
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