(Washington DC) -- Today the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed a formal Complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against the Citizenship Education Fund (CEF), a non-profit organization founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson.
The Complaint states, "...CEF has engaged in conduct which appears to violate the Code. This apparent misconduct falls into three areas: non-exempt purpose, private inurement, and procedural non-compliance. The ‘red flags’ ...justify the Service initiating an investigation and/or audit of CEF that may lead to revocation of tax-exempt status and/or individual sanctions..."
NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty stated, "By threatening boycotts and opposition
to corporate mergers, Jesse Jackson has extracted millions of dollars from
corporate America. In effect, he has been providing business services and
facilitating business transactions for a fee, activities inconsistent with
his group’s tax-exempt status. A recent example is the GTE- Bell Atlantic
merger. Jackson dropped his opposition to the merger and the companies
reportedly provided a million dollars to CEF."
Flaherty continued, "CEF may have also violated the private inurement
doctrine insofar as the funds from the non-profit have been used for private
personal ends. Paying off a mistress is not a legitimate use of the assets
of a tax-exempt group. Furthermore, two of Jackson’s sons, both CEF officials,
were granted a lucrative Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Chicago, despite
the fact they had no experience in the beer industry."
"CEF also appears to be in non-compliance in the filing of its annual tax returns. For instance, tax exempt groups must disclose their five largest independent contractors. On its 1999 return, CEF lists no consultants, despite apparently paying out over $1 million in consulting fees. We expect a swift, complete and fair investigation of Jesse Jackson and the Citizenship Education Fund, Flaherty added."
NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability
in government through research, education and legal action.
For a copy of the Complaint, please
visit http://www.nlpc.org.
For Interviews, please call Dan Rene at (703) 847-3088