ACORN Owes Millions in Taxes - PERHAPS ACORN SHOULD PAY ITS TAXES OWED by Amanda Carpenter townhall.com
An intrepid researcher has discovered more than 200 tax liens totaling more than $3.7 million have been filed by the government against the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now for unpaid taxes since the late eighties. A tax lien is issued when a person or organization fails to pay taxes and that tax debt is considered seriously delinquent. A lien is only issued after the government makes several unsuccessful attempts to collect the debt. The conservative-leaning Capital Research Center’s Matthew Vadum found a staggering number of liens listed against ACORN’s national headquarters at 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana while conducting an exhaustive investigation of ACORN's history and current activities. “I took that address and plugged it into Nexis and did a public records search for tax liens,” Vadum said. “At least 230 tax liens corresponded to ACORN’s address and they were all from ACORN’s shadowy network of affiliates.” The liens filed against ACORN and their associated groups come from the Internal Revenue Service and government officials in fifteen different states. 75 of the 230 tax liens appear to have been “released,” meaning the full debt was paid or a negotiated payment was made for the debt. The rest are outstanding. The "shadowy network" Vadum mentioned are the hundreds of ACORN offshoots housed at ACORN's official 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue address, such as Project Vote, ACORN Institute Inc., ACORN Housing Inc. Inc and Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN). One of those organizations is Citizens Consulting, Inc, which was paid nearly $800,000 by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign to conduct get-out-the-vote activities during the Democratic primary. While CSI raked in cash from the Obama campaign the IRS was preparing nearly a million in liens against ACORN. The IRS filed a lien on ACORN for $306,407 on March 6, 2008. A different lien was filed for $547,312 against ACORN on March 10, 2008 and another was filed on March 14 for $132,997. Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R.-Ohio)and other Republicans have called on Congress to strip ACORN of their federal funding, which has received at least $31 million in various grants since 1998, because of ACORN's role in rampant vote registration fraud across the nation, but Democrats have not expressed any interest in doing this. “ACORN is a relentless crusader for social programs and government wealth redistribution schemes and the fact they can’t be bothered to pay taxes speaks volumes about the integrity of the organization,” Vadum said. On Oct 28, 5:47 am, mark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > do pay attention murky, and try doing a little research, and follow > the discussions on this board. > fact: it was McCain and the reublicans who 5 yrs ago were sounding > the alarm that fannie and freedie were out of control and needed > regulated > fact: it was the dems who were receiving hundreds of thousands from > these companies to turn a blind eye. > fact: if the dems had put aside their greed, we would not have this > economic meltdown today. > look it up murkey. > > On Oct 28, 6:35 am, "moveon.org mike532" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > > what in the world are you talking about ? > > > On Oct 28, 6:31 am, mark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > if the dems would have listened to McCain and the republicans, instead > >ention > of collecting all those bribes, the mortgage industry would not be > >in > > > a meltdown. always trying to rewrite history, aren't ya murky. > > > > On Oct 28, 6:27 am, "moveon.org mike532" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > wrote: > > > > > If the GOP Had Listened to ACORN's Advice, the Mortgage Industry > > > > Wouldn't Be in Meltdownhttp://www.alternet.org/election08/104726/ > > > > Desperate Republicans are scapegoating the respected community > > > > advocacy group for Wall Street's disastrous lending > > > > spree. > > > > An increasingly desperate Republican attack machine has recently > > > > identified the community organizing group ACORN as Public Enemy > > > > Number > > > > One. Among ACORN's alleged crimes, perhaps the most serious is that > > > > it > > > > caused, nearly single-handedly, the world's financial crisis. That's > > > > the fantasy. In the reality-based world, it was ACORN that sounded > > > > the > > > > alarm about the exploitative lending practices that led to the > > > > current > > > > mortgage meltdown and financial crisis. > > > > > Since the 1970s ACORN, which has 400,000 low- and moderate-income > > > > "member families" in more than 100 cities in forty states, has been > > > > warning Congress to protect borrowers from the banking industry's > > > > irresponsible, risky and predatory practices -- subprime loans, > > > > racial > > > > discrimination (called "redlining") and rip-off fees. ACORN has > > > > persistently called for stronger regulations on banks, private > > > > mortgage companies, mortgage brokers and rating agencies. For years, > > > > ACORN has alerted public officials that the industry was hoodwinking > > > > many families into taking out risky loans they couldn't afford and > > > > whose fine print they couldn't understand. > > > > > Now John McCain and his fellow conservatives are accusing ACORN of > > > > strong-arming Congress and big Wall Street banks into making subprime > > > > loans to poor families who couldn't afford them, thus causing the > > > > economic disaster. McCain's campaign is running a one-and-a-half- > > > > minute video that claims Barack Obama once worked for ACORN, repeats > > > > the accusation that ACORN is responsible for widespread voter > > > > registration fraud and accuses ACORN of "bullying banks, intimidation > > > > tactics, and disruption of business." The ad claims that ACORN > > > > "forced > > > > banks to issue risky home loans -- the same types of loans that > > > > caused > > > > the financial crisis we're in today." > > > > > For months, the right-wing echo chamber -- bloggers, columnists, > > > > editorial writers and TV and radio talk-show hosts -- has pitched in > > > > with a well-orchestrated campaign to blame the mortgage crisis on > > > > ACORN and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the 1977 anti- > > > > redlining law. In a September 27 editorial, the Wall Street Journal > > > > wrote that "ACORN has promoted laws like the Community Reinvestment > > > > Act, which laid the foundation for the house of cards built out of > > > > subprime loans" and then falsely claimed the bailout bill would > > > > create > > > > a trust fund "pipeline" to fill ACORN's coffers. On October 14 the > > > > Journal's lead editorial, Obama and ACORN, described ACORN as a > > > > "shady > > > > outfit" and accused the group of being "a major contributor to the > > > > subprime meltdown by pushing lenders to make home loans on easy > > > > terms, > > > > conducting 'strikes' against banks so they'd lower credit standards." > > > > > Discussing the mortgage crisis on his Fox News show, Your World, Neil > > > > Cavuto commented, "Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a > > > > disaster." > > > > > Over at the Washington Post, columnist Charles Krauthammer complained > > > > that the CRA had led banks and other lenders "to extend mortgages to > > > > people who were borrowing over their heads." Holding forth on The > > > > O'Reilly Factor, Laura Ingraham laid the foreclosure problem on Bill > > > > Clinton, who "pushed all these institutions to lend to minority > > > > communities." Many of the loans, she said, were "very risky." Former > > > > Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a putative populist, echoed on the > > > > Hannity & Colmes Show: "The truth is that Democrats controlled the > > > > ability to fix this [the mortgage crisis]. It was their harsh > > > > regulation under the Community Reinvestment Act that started this > > > > ball > > > > rolling down the hill. " > > > > > On September 10 on Fox & Friends, National Review columnist Stanley > > > > Kurtz described ACORN as "a group of community organizers [who] > > > > specialize in putting pressure, really kind of intimidation tactics, > > > > on banks, to get these banks to make high-risk loans to low-credit > > > > customers. They even show up at the homes of bank officials to scare > > > > them and their families. They send demonstrators into the lobbies of > > > > banks, all to get the banks to make these high-risk loans to people > > > > with low credit." McCain's anti-ACORN attack video is almost a word- > > > > for-word duplication of Kurtz's comments. > > > > > The right-wing case against the CRA is entirely bogus -- a > > > > diversionary tactic to take the heat off the financial services > > > > industry and its allies, like McCain. The CRA applies only to > > > > depository institutions, like commercial and savings banks, but > > > > thanks > > > > to Congress's deregulation mania, there are now many other lenders, > > > > including private mortgage companies like CitiMortgage, Household > > > > Finance and Countrywide Financial (which was recently bought out by > > > > Bank of America). These outfits, which exist in a shadow world > > > > without > > > > government oversight, account for most of the predatory loans in > > > > trouble today. > > > > > When Congress enacted the CRA in 1977, the vast majority of all > > > > mortgage loans were made by lenders regulated by the law. In 2006 > > > > only > > > > about 43 percent of home loans were made by companies subject to the > > > > CRA. Indeed, the main culprits in the subprime scandal -- the nonbank > > > > mortgage companies, which successfully grabbed the bulk of the > > > > mortgage market away from the CRA-regulated banking industry -- were > > > > not covered by the CRA. > > > > > 123Next page »- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
