I should stop being surprised by this, as the current administration disregards the constitution at every turn unless it benefits them. The two statements that shocked me the most due to their blatant admittance that different standards exist.
First the comment about the groups views matching the views of the white house. Since when has that been a requirement in the US?
“An IRS agent told Z Street’s lawyers that the application was delayed because of a ‘Special Israel Policy’ that requires more intense scrutiny of organizations which have to do with Israel, in part to determine whether they espouse positions on Israel contrary to those of the current administration.”
Why would we have a ‘Special Israel Policy’ and why do their views have to match the current administration? This is a tax-exempt status with the IRS. Which they filed in January, eight months ago.
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Focus U.S.A / Are U.S. tax officials punishing Zionists who won’t toe the White House line?
Right-wing Z-Street sues IRS over claims it withheld tax breaks because campaigners’ policies clashed with Obama’s: ‘This is a clear violation of the First Amendment.’
So is America’s Internal Revenue Service discriminating against Z Street on political grounds, dragging its feet in approving tax-exempt status for the pro-Israel right-wing group?
That’s what the organization, formed by two activists, Lori Lowenthal Marcus and Allison Rowen Taylor, to counter left-wing rivals like J Street, claimed in a lawsuit filed this week against the Commissioner of Internal Revenuein a U.S. court.
Z Street says it was told by an IRS official that its application for tax-exempt status had been held back because an IRS policy requires consideration of whether a group’s views on Israel differ from those of the current White House administration.
“Z Street filed for tax-exempt status in January of this year and, despite having met all of the requirements for grant of this status, the application has been stalled,” the group said in a statement.
“An IRS agent told Z Street’s lawyers that the application was delayed because of a ‘Special Israel Policy’ that requires more intense scrutiny of organizations which have to do with Israel, in part to determine whether they espouse positions on Israel contrary to those of the current administration.”
The move violated the U.S. constitutions guarantees of speech, Z Street said
“Not only is it patently un-American but it is also a clear violation of the First Amendment for a government agency to penalize an organization because of its political position on Israel or anything else”.
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Link to full original article: Are U.S. tax officials punishing Zionists who won’t toe the White House line?
myBlessedHope 