HSUS

IRS’s Lois Lerner, ‘active member’ of Humane Society, may have delayed investigating group’s tax status

4:20 PM 05/16/2013

Patrick Howley

Investigative Reporter





Lois G. Lerner, the embattled Internal Revenue Service official who apologized for improperly scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of conservative nonprofit groups, is a member of the Humane Society of the United States.



Lerner — the suddenly infamous IRS Exempt Organizations Division director — “is an active member of the Humane Society of the United States where her efforts in performing pet rescues necessitated by the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes were widely acknowledged,” according to her biography.



The HSUS has been accused of sending less than one percent of its funds to animal shelters, a charge that a spokesman in 2012 would not deny. According to IRS filings, the group took in $148,703,820 in revenue in 2010.



On May 12, 2010, Republican Missouri Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer wrote a letter to Lerner, expressing his concerns about the tax-exempt status of the HSUS, which is listed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group.



“The attached information unquestionably demonstrates that [the] HSUS invests a substantial amount of time and money in political campaigns and attempts to influence specific legislation, a clear and direct violation of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,” Luetkemeyer wrote in the letter.



“I understand that you are not at liberty to comment on any potential IRS actions but do hope your agency will give thoughtful consideration of the concerns I have expressed,” Luetkemeyer wrote.



Lerner has been unresponsive to Luetkemeyer’s office’s repeated requests for status updates on the matter over the past three years.



“This was actually the result of concerns from constituents at the time that [the] HSUS was involved in political activity,” Luetkemeyer spokesman Paul Sloca told The Daily Caller Thursday.



On March 23 of that same year, Luetkemeyer had sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman conveying the concerns of his constituents regarding HSUS’s significant lobbying activities as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt group.





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Lobbying

In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.

Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive office), or by the public in referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.

An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.

Organizations may, however, involve themselves in issues of public policy without the activity being considered as lobbying. For example, organizations may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.



http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Lobbying

Anything that helps bring down HSUS is a plus for our industry. Didn't even the Florida debate over closed borders quote HSUS as stating farmers spread disease?