The Intimidation Game Read Online Free Page B
Author: Kimberley Strassel
grant competition, making it through two rounds before getting cut. ( I hate losing .) She kept on with the rallies, events, meetings. Christmas 2011 came and went. And then that fateful day in February, and the “oh shit” moment.
The questionnaire Kenney opened that day was almost a perfect expression of Orwellian bureaucracy—a mix of boring officialdom and sinister intrusiveness. The entire first sheet contained a bewildering list of instructions and caveats. “Mail or fax your response to each of the items requested.…Fax to the name and fax number shown at the top of page 1 of this letter. If your response is greater than 20 pages do not fax. Do not fax and mail your response.…Each piece of correspondence submitted, whether fax or mail, must be processed, assigned and reviewed.…Do not fax your response multiple times.”
What followed were six pages of close type, containing thirty-five broad questions and more than eighty subquestions. Some were redundant. Question 3 required Kenney to (re)submit her articles of incorporation. Some were straightforward: “How many members do you currently have? Provide details regarding all members’ fees and benefits.”
Most, however, were insanely invasive ( Ever had a proctology exam done through your nose? That’s how this felt. ):
Provide a printout of each of your website’s pages, including any pages with restricted access.
Provide details regarding all of your activity on Facebook and Twitter. Also provide hard copies of all advertising you have conducted using social media outlets.
Indicate if any of your current and former officers, directors, and key employees are related to each other (include family and business relationships) and describe the nature of the relationship.
Provide minutes of all board meetings since your creation.
Regarding your current and planned volunteers:
How many volunteers do you have?
How many volunteers are/were devoted to each activity of the organization throughout the year?
Provide a list of all issues that are important to your organization. Indicate your position regarding each issue.
Are you associated with any other IRC 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 527 organizations? If yes:
Provide the name, federal employer identification number, and address of each organization.
Describe in detail the nature of the relationship(s).
Describe the nature of all contacts with the organizations.
Has any person or organization provided educational services to you? If yes, provide the following:
The name of the person or organization.
A full description of the services provided.
The political affiliation of the person or organization.
You attempt to influence the outcome of specific legislation. Please answer the following:
Provide copies of all communications, pamphlets, advertisements, and other materials distributed by you regarding the legislation.
Do you directly or indirectly communicate with members of legislative bodies? If so, explain the amount and nature of the communication.
Have you conducted any protests? If yes, please answer the following regarding your protest activities:
What percentage of your time and funds are spent protesting?
Has your organization ever conducted or promoted any illegal activity? If yes, explain.
Have any of your members been arrested by the police during a demonstration? If yes, explain.
And on and on and on and on. From the first, Kenney knew there was something gravely wrong with these questions. The IRS had always been easy about bestowing tax-exempt status. Its bureaucrats perform basic due diligence—make sure the forms are filled out correctly, check that the organization isn’t blatantly or erroneously applying. Assuming all is in order, the tax-exempt letter goes out. And correctly so. The IRS, after all, is a tax agency. Its job isn’t to question the motives of
The questionnaire Kenney opened that day was almost a perfect expression of Orwellian bureaucracy—a mix of boring officialdom and sinister intrusiveness. The entire first sheet contained a bewildering list of instructions and caveats. “Mail or fax your response to each of the items requested.…Fax to the name and fax number shown at the top of page 1 of this letter. If your response is greater than 20 pages do not fax. Do not fax and mail your response.…Each piece of correspondence submitted, whether fax or mail, must be processed, assigned and reviewed.…Do not fax your response multiple times.”
What followed were six pages of close type, containing thirty-five broad questions and more than eighty subquestions. Some were redundant. Question 3 required Kenney to (re)submit her articles of incorporation. Some were straightforward: “How many members do you currently have? Provide details regarding all members’ fees and benefits.”
Most, however, were insanely invasive ( Ever had a proctology exam done through your nose? That’s how this felt. ):
Provide a printout of each of your website’s pages, including any pages with restricted access.
Provide details regarding all of your activity on Facebook and Twitter. Also provide hard copies of all advertising you have conducted using social media outlets.
Indicate if any of your current and former officers, directors, and key employees are related to each other (include family and business relationships) and describe the nature of the relationship.
Provide minutes of all board meetings since your creation.
Regarding your current and planned volunteers:
How many volunteers do you have?
How many volunteers are/were devoted to each activity of the organization throughout the year?
Provide a list of all issues that are important to your organization. Indicate your position regarding each issue.
Are you associated with any other IRC 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 527 organizations? If yes:
Provide the name, federal employer identification number, and address of each organization.
Describe in detail the nature of the relationship(s).
Describe the nature of all contacts with the organizations.
Has any person or organization provided educational services to you? If yes, provide the following:
The name of the person or organization.
A full description of the services provided.
The political affiliation of the person or organization.
You attempt to influence the outcome of specific legislation. Please answer the following:
Provide copies of all communications, pamphlets, advertisements, and other materials distributed by you regarding the legislation.
Do you directly or indirectly communicate with members of legislative bodies? If so, explain the amount and nature of the communication.
Have you conducted any protests? If yes, please answer the following regarding your protest activities:
What percentage of your time and funds are spent protesting?
Has your organization ever conducted or promoted any illegal activity? If yes, explain.
Have any of your members been arrested by the police during a demonstration? If yes, explain.
And on and on and on and on. From the first, Kenney knew there was something gravely wrong with these questions. The IRS had always been easy about bestowing tax-exempt status. Its bureaucrats perform basic due diligence—make sure the forms are filled out correctly, check that the organization isn’t blatantly or erroneously applying. Assuming all is in order, the tax-exempt letter goes out. And correctly so. The IRS, after all, is a tax agency. Its job isn’t to question the motives of
Readers choose
Jennifer Paetsch
Bernard Cornwell
Rebecca Grace Allen
Jan Coffey
John Buchan
Lynn Cahoon
Annabel Joseph
Ania Ahlborn
Susan Crawford
E.G. Rodford