NRA <==> IRS

[Aguila Blanca]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...rs/ar-BB1bmmpB

According to this article, the NRA has filed a return with the IRS admitting that Wayne LaPierre was compensated improperly between 2015 and 2019, and claiming that it's now all good because WLP has repaid $300,000. The NRA also says that they are investigating other senior people who may have received improper compensation.

To me, this all sounds like the NRA is still covering for Wayne LaPierre, and that the organization is going to throw other people under the bus to protect WLP. It's extremely difficult to believe that the board of directors would allow this charade to continue.

Three tax and accounting experts who reviewed the 2019 tax return for The Post said the disclosures show the organization and LaPierre trying to take responsibility and avoid further legal jeopardy.

“This is the type of cleanup I would expect to see after a history of gross violations of nonprofit law,” said Philip Hackney, an associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh who worked at the IRS for five years until 2011 providing legal oversight of tax-exempt organizations.

LaPierre personally signed the 2019 tax return; such a document is customarily signed by the organization’s treasurer. “He is putting himself on the line, under penalties of perjury, which is what you do if you are trying to get in someone’s good graces,” Hackney said.

[AirForceShooter]

Somehow the NRA skated in NY and now they're sneaking out from under the IRS.
This organization needs a complete new management. I have NEVER given them a dime because of Wayne. The man is a flat out thief.

Bye the way did anyone see hide or hair of the NRA during the election?

GOA for me .

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by AirForceShooter

Somehow the NRA skated in NY and now they're sneaking out from under the IRS.

How did the NRA skate in New York? Has that case been settled? I thought it was still in progress.

[WyMark]

My guess is that the $300,000 payment represents 10%, at best, of what he took.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Yes, I read the article yesterday.

The fact that no one knows how the NRA came up with their figures or amounts of improprieties/malfeasance is telling.

Such as,

LaPierre has reimbursed the organization nearly $300,000 in travel expenses covering 2015 to 2019, according to the tax return, which does not explain how that amount was determined or when LaPierre paid it.

And,

New York lawyer and expert on nonprofits Daniel Kurtz said, “It’s a smart move by the NRA instead of digging in their heels, though who knows how they came up with the numbers.

The only way the NRA will ever see another dime from me is when they have a full financial audit completed by an independent firm and get rid of LaPierre and his sycophants.

No hard feelings against anyone, but this line really chaffs my britches:

Last year, compensation for top NRA executives rose by 41 percent, with LaPierre receiving a total of about $2.2 million from the NRA and related entities even as pension benefits for employees have been frozen.

I don't wish anyone ill, but it's past time for many of them to resign.

[GlenF]

"hide or hair of the NRA during the election"

That is a good one. My wife and I belong to the NRA and received lots of input from the NRA about the national election as well as our local elections. This input came as E-Mails, regular mail, and phone calls.

I love the NRA, and I also see where changes need to be made.

By the way, anyone who can stick it to the IRS is my hero.

[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by AirForceShooter

...... Bye the way did anyone see hide or hair of the NRA during the election?

GOA for me .....

According to the article in the opening post, the NRA spent 17 million in the 2020 election versus 30 million in 2016. Out of curiosity, what did the GOA spend in 2016 and 2020?

[FrankenMauser]

The case is still open in NY. The NRA was definitively selling insurance without being licensed to do such (among other things).
Unless they can find a way to settle, they're going down for it.

[jmr40]

By the way, anyone who can stick it to the IRS is my hero.

When the ultra rich stick it to the IRS and avoid paying $$$ MILLIONS in taxes guess who makes up the difference. You and me.

I don't mind paying taxes. I just want EVERYONE to pay their fair share and I want it spent responsibly.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by FoghornLeghorn

And from the article:

The new tax documents portray an organization trimming costs and struggling as membership dues and other revenue declined even before the coronavirus pandemic curbed charitable fundraising nationwide. The NRA reported a $12.2 million operating shortfall last year, up from $2.7 million the previous year. This is the fourth year in a row the organization has reported spending more than it took in.

In a for-profit business, increasing compensation of the senior executives while they are losing money is stupid. For a not-for-profit, membership organization to give the CEO a massive increase while the ship is sinking on his watch is unconscionable. It shows that, while Wayne LaPierre may be the focal point, the problem transcends WLP. With apologies to Vizzini, it's inconceivable to me that the board of directors would approve anything more than a cost of living increase for WLP when he has clearly steered the ship, if not onto the rocks, certainly into shoal waters. So the board of directors is complicit in the mess, and they need to be replaced along with LaPierre.

LaPierre is like a guy I worked for a number of years ago, in a small engineering firm. Around this time of the year he called the whole staff into the library and announced that the firm didn't have a great year, so there weren't going to be any raises. He said, "I've tightened my belt as much as I can, so I'm asking all of you to tighten yours a little." We found out later than (1) he was paying himself a quarter of a million dollars a year when the next highest paid person was making about $65,000; and (2) he "only" gave himself a 20% increase that year, instead of the 25% he usually gave himself. So, to him, that was "tightening his belt" as much as he could, and that justified not giving anyone else even a cost of living increase.

So, yeah -- I've heard it before. I wasn't impressed than, and I'm not impressed now.

[thallub]

Appears that the NRA continues to plunder the NRA Foundation.

[JERRYS.]

lip service.

WLP is the best tool the democrats have against the NRA. membership is down because of him and his buddies.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by thallub

Appears that the NRA continues to plunder the NRA Foundation.

Link? What does this statement refer to?

[thallub]

Link?

See the NRA and NRA foundation Form 990s from about 2015. See the lawsuit against the NRA Foundation by the AG of Washington, DC. Page 10:

https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/fil...t-Redacted.pdf

What does this refer to?

The NRA Foundation has no employees. Overcharging the NRA Foundation for services performed. From my link above:

QUOTE]56. Despite the surprise information that nearly doubled the Foundation’s management fees,
the Foundation Board voted to increase the 2018 management fees by $5,868,048, including
approval to transfer nearly $4 million to the NRA immediately. The vote was taken without further
investigation or negotiation, in a closed session meeting that lasted less than 50 minutes.

57. This multi-million-dollar management fee increase for 2018 was approved without the
Foundation Board conducting an assessment of the fees’ fair market value compared to other such
arrangements or obtaining the input of an independent auditor. It was approved without knowing
what any of the employees did for the Foundation or how their services furthered the purposes and
mission of the Foundation.

58. The Foundation did not receive proper documentation from the NRA to show that the
dramatic increase in management fees was accurate or fair. The NRA also did not provide any
details to the Foundation to demonstrate that the management fees were being used for proper
purposes, and not to pay employees for work on prohibited tasks like political activities and
substantial lobbying. The increase was approved based solely on the word of the NRA employees
and the conflicted Foundation Treasurer. Due to the Foundation’s lack of independence, the
Foundation permitted the NRA to control the management fee process. In effect, the Foundation
did not receive any assurances that it was receiving fair value for its payments to the NRA or that
Foundation funds were being used exclusively for Foundation purposes. [/QUOTE]


Borrowing tax exempt funds from the NRA Foundation and using that money for whatever purpose.


At the same time the NRA Foundation budget is being cut. This statement at your link pertains to the NRA Foundation.

During the same time period, the group slashed spending on hunter services by 63 percent, public affairs by 52 percent, legislative programs by 17 percent, and safety education, training, gun shows and exhibits by 16 percent, according to an audit filed this year with North Carolina charity regulators.

In order to understand the full extent of the trashing of the NRA and the NRA Foundation by WLP, his cretins and the BOD; one must do some serious reading.

[Mainah]

Based on the sales figures and shortages I imagine that this was a huge year for first time gun ownership. And from what I can see the NRA had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the Presidential race, and I'm not hearing anything from them in Georgia.

It's almost as if they're laying low because they believe that Democrats controlling the White House and both houses of Congress will be more profitable than the alternative.

[natman]

Originally Posted by FrankenMauser

The case is still open in NY. The NRA was definitively selling insurance without being licensed to do such (among other things).
Unless they can find a way to settle, they're going down for it.

The New York insurance issue has been settled.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ork-settlement

However, the attempt by the state of New York to cancel the NRA's charter continues:
https://www.democratandchronicle.com...ra/3317527001/

If the allegations in the suit are true, then the appropriate action is criminal charges for the individual NRA executives involved. But trying to disband the entire organization is politically motivated overreach.

[Mike38]

It's almost as if they're laying low because they believe that Democrats controlling the White House and both houses of Congress will be more profitable than the alternative.

That is a scary thought, one that never crossed my mind. But I wouldn't put it past Lapierre. Funds going to his bank account take priority over Constitutionally protected rights for the Commoners.