The NRA’s Bad Week Gets Worse As House Democrats Are Gunning For Their Tax Exempt Status

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) of the House Ways and Means Committee requested documents from the NRA as part of an investigation into revoking their tax exempt status.

Democrats are investigating the NRA’s tax-exempt status

Rep. Schneider wrote in a letter to Wayne LaPierre:

As a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, I take very seriously the Committee’s oversight role of our nation’s federal tax laws and my responsibility in this process. It is with this duty in mind that I am requesting the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) make public documents that can help determine if wrongdoing by the NRA has occurred and whether these activities warrant reconsideration of the NRA’s tax-exempt status as an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

As I am sure you are aware, the allegations against the NRA reported in The New Yorker on April 17, 2019, include instances of egregious self-dealing, deceptive billing practices, and preferences in contracting.[1] Additional reporting by The Wall Street Journal paints a disturbing picture of the internal struggle between NRA leadership, as well as its dispute with Ackerman McQueen Inc., and refers to various documents detailing possible improper operating practices. [2] And just two weeks ago, The Washington Post published an investigatory piece outlining questionable business dealings between NRA Board members and the NRA, which suggests the possibility of private inurement, which as you know, violates Section 501(c)(4) of the IRC.[3]

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The American public deserves to know whether your tax-exempt organization is operating according to its intended social welfare purpose.

So far this week, the NRA has closed down production on NRATV, and their top lobbyist has resigned.

The House Ways and Means committee is investigating their tax-exempt status.

Rep. Schneider said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “Near daily we seem to learn of new allegations of serious wrongdoing at the highest levels of the NRA. If the NRA is abusing its tax-exempt status to enrich its leadership, the American taxpayer should not be on the hook to subsidize their scheme. Congress has a fundamental oversight role over our nation’s federal tax laws, and I hope the NRA will cooperate with this request to determine if the organization is operating according to its intended social welfare purpose.â€

The NRA has also been under investigation for ties to Russia and the potential laundering of Russian money into Trump’s presidential campaign.

The gun lobby is crumbling under the weight of corruption and civil war, and losing their tax-exempt status would be another step toward the end of the NRA.

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