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sheshe2

(83,780 posts) Sat Apr 27, 2019, 09:36 PM Apr 2019

Fact Check: The NRA is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

The February 2018 shooting deaths of seventeen people at a high school in Parkland, Florida and a subsequent, charged town hall meeting about gun safety with some of the mass shooting’s survivors and their families has put the National Rifle Association under intense scrutiny for its opposition to gun control.

Against this background, many were surprised to discover that the NRA, despite being well known for its political lobbying and ties to the gun industry, is in fact a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. On 22 February 2018, the “Really American” Facebook page posted a meme that showed President Donald Trump holding a replica flintlock rifle, along with this message:

The NRA has non-profit, tax-exempt status. Even though they transformed from an organization for gun owners to an organization for gun manufacturers, and donate millions of dollars to politicians to make sure they vote the “right way.” Corruption in action.

The National Rifle Association is indeed a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. To be specific, it has 501(c)(4) status, meaning it is regarded as a “social welfare organization” by the Internal Revenue Service:

To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements.)

Read More: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nra-tax-exempt-non-profit/

What a fugging joke.

To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements.)

Read More: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nra-tax-exempt-non-profit/

You have to ask yourself why some politicians attack Amazon and not the death machine NRA for not paying taxes.

Why is that? Why!?

"an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community "

Talk to Parkland and Sandy Hook to mention a few. Even after the shootings were over, they buried their dead, mourned their dead and fought for justice they were turned away. Vilified by the NRA and the politicians that reap funding from them.

It is the synagogues, black churches, movie theaters, our children's schools. We need to protect them.

If a child falls at school, a christian, muslim, baptist in a church, a black man or woman walking, talking or living...if they scream. WILL ANYONE HEAR THEM?

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Fact Check: The NRA is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. (Original Post) sheshe2 Apr 2019 OP

There are two NRAs. Igel Apr 2019 #1

Igel

(35,317 posts)

1. There are two NRAs.

Reply to sheshe2 (Original post)

Sat Apr 27, 2019, 10:11 PM

Apr 2019

It pays to remember this.

The first NRA is a 501(c) corporation. It lobbies. It doesn't do political work in any serious sense, except to the extent that politics is policy (and not candidates or parties).

The second NRA is actually the PVF, which it established long ago as a 527 corporation. That's a political action committee. It's politically involved, but still "non-partisan" in the sense that it's not supposed to advocate for any candidate or party per se or coordinate with a candidate's campaign. However, like many other PACs and unions, when there's an issue that's connected to a specific candidate, the line has to become blurry. If, for example, the only candidate that pushed for additional pay for teachers was KH, then any support that advocated support for additional pay for teachers would automatically entail tacit support for the (one) candidate supporting the same goal. At that point, support for the candidate isn't support for the candidate, but the spending for both those supporting the goal and much of the (partisan) support for the candidate would be in furtherance of the same goal.

The difference is analogical to two people on the same road heading in the same direction. They can be in the same car and as a result heading to the same destination or they can separately be heading for the same destination. Seems like a nice distinction, but it's a meaningful one. All it takes for the difference to show up is for the candidate to change views or for a second candidate to pick up the same goal. Then those in the same car tend to stay in the same car (and it's a partisan thing) or there are three people heading for the same destination and the support that appeared partisan and candidate-driven is suddenly for two candidates, not just one.

501(c) get to define their communities. Presumably the general welfare is fairly general, but in practice if you're a Vietnamese or a Mormon 501(c) then you're not necessarily fighting for African-Americans or Muslims. Churches and many colleges are non-profit corporations under this statute. Harvard's goal isn't necessarily helping oppressed Chicanos in So Cal. Stanford isn't out to improve the lives of the Amish. There's a lot of particular groups and welfares that get merged into the "general welfare".

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