Ways and Means Chair Continues Bully Pulpit Campaign Against “left-leaning” Exempt Organizations
We posted here and here, and a couple of other times, about the letter writing campaign engaged in mostly by Chairperson Smith and other Republicans members of Ways and Means. Yesterday, Chairperson Smith sent another letter, this time to the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It seems the Foundation received a $12 million donation from the Tides Foundation which Chairperson Smith describes as “left leaning” organization looking to destroy capitalism:
In December 2023, the Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on the growth of the tax-exempt sector and its impact on the American political system. These activities helped inform the Committee about the functioning of the sector and raised numerous concerns about activities of tax-exempt organizations like yours. Specifically, we are concerned about recent public reporting regarding the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF). The USCCF is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(6).
The public reports at issue indicate that the USCCF has received over $12 million in funding from the Tides Foundation, a left-leaning organization that partners with and sponsors groups that advocate for policies that would harm the American business community. Contrary to the USCC’s stated mission of improving lives “by advancing American business” and advocating “for policies that help businesses create jobs and grow our economy,” it seems odd that the foundation would accept funding from a group like the Tides Foundation, which is so focused on activities that are counter to USCC’s stated mission. Furthermore, these reports raise concerns about how the USCC and USCCF are using their tax-exempt status.
According to the Tides Foundation’s website, they work with “foundations who share our vision” and help their foundation partners “[c]ollaborate with like-minded funders to fuel social movements and transform policy.” The Tides Foundation says that their vision is “that a just and equitable future can exist only when communities who have been historically denied power have the social, political, and economic power they need to create it.” The Tides Foundation partners with and sponsors several anti-business organizations that seem to directly contradict the USCC’s stated mission. One example of an anti-business Tides Foundation supported project is the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR). In December 2023, ICAR published a report titled Building a Rights-Based Economy: A Corporate Accountability Agenda.
In this report, ICAR said “[t]ransnational corporations with intentionally complex, opaque supply chains are able to conceal systematic wage theft, forced labor, and attacks against human rights defenders” and “companies that pay little to nothing in federal income taxes go on to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying for their interests.”
If this letter came from National People’s Congress we would look down our noses at that government’s attempt to bend civil society to its will. These guys have no shame, though. This weekend I will be attending a Critical Tax Conference at the University of Florida. Critical Tax Theory is a real thing. The Governor must not be aware that it’s being held at Ben Sasse’s state school because it has not been canceled or shut down for use of the word “critical.” Heads might roll later, though.
Tax scholars — the older dogs amongst us, at least — like to think that tax is mostly numbers and economics, devoid of explicit social battles common in other areas of law. Oh sure, there is always the “rich vs. poor” but even that is rarely articulated in terms related to partisan wedge issues. I am not an expert on the history of the tax writing committees, but I would be surprised if either of them have ever been this explicitly partisan in their oversight of the tax code.
The letter goes on to ask, with feigned “I’m just asking” bewilderment why the Foundation would ever except $12 million dollars from Tides. D’uh! Because its $12 million dollars, maybe? Why would any organization accept a $12 million dollar donation, even one from an organization with which it is not on all fours. Most of would take $12 million dollars from Satan, himself, all with the intention to use it for God’s kingdom. Stop being stupid, fellas. Anyway, the stupidity ends with a ridiculous suggestion that advocacy against a particular economic philosophy might be a legitimate exempt purpose. That’s my real beef with these silly letters. They always contain some sort of absurdity:
These reports are concerning because the Committee is evaluating whether tax-exempt organizations like USCC and USCCF are operating for the exempt purposes that allowed them to obtain tax-exempt status. Additionally, the Committee is concerned about whether donors to, and members of, organizations like yours have sufficient awareness of how their money is being spent.
These guys should stop wasting time.
darryll k. jones