FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, February 16, 2010
Contact: Tom Zawistowski, TomZ@OhioLibertyCouncil.org
OHIO LIBERTY COUNCIL REFUSES TO COMPLY WITH IRS REQUEST
Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio Liberty Council today announce that it would refuse to comply with an IRS request for information concerning the organizations application for non-profit status which has been delayed for the past 18 months. The IRS was informed in a letter today from Ohio Liberty Council President, Tom Zawistowski, that said “We find that your requests are unreasonable, overly burdensome, intrusive and possibly politically motivated and that they have little to do with determining our organization’s qualifications for non-profit status. Instead we believe that your requests force our organization to either forfeit our First Amendment Rights to Free Political Speech and Freedom of Assembly or deny us the non-profit status we are entitled to under IRS regulations. Neither of which is acceptable.”
The letter went on to say “Therefore, we hereby refuse to comply with your request. We have asked our Congressional Representatives to investigate your actions and intentions and we are exploring every legal means available to defend our rights. We answered all pertinent questions about our organization in our detailed original 1024 application in June of 2010 and see no reason why non-profit status should not be granted. We hereby request that our organization be granted non-profit status on the basis of that application without further delay.”
Zawistowski closed by saying “I defy any American to read this list of demands by the IRS and not be outraged. This is the kind of personal information that this government is going to be demanding from your church, your doctor, your hospital, your business and your favorite charity going forward. This isn’t speculation, these documents prove it is actually happening and will continue - particularly under Obamacare. Like the Catholic Church, we will not comply, we will resist with all our might, and defend the Constitution.”
The Ohio Liberty Council is a council of leaders whose purpose is to unite conservative grassroots organizations for greater effectiveness in the state and nation, and to provide resources for member organizations to strengthen their groups. The OLC currently has over 75 liberty-minded groups across Ohio who are members of its coalition.
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