On Jan. 12, the Landmark Legal Foundation filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) asking the Agency to investigate the refusal of two state affiliates of the National Education Association (NEA) – the Florida Education Association (FEA) and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) – to release their annual federal income tax returns for years 2000, 2001 and 2002. Landmark has also asked the IRS to impose civil fines on the unions for withholding this information in violation of the Internal Revenue Code.
Mark R. Levin, Landmark’s president, said: “Landmark has initiated a nationwide effort to examine the political activities of the NEA and each of its state affiliates to determine if these unions are using tens of millions of dollars of their members’ tax-exempt funds for improper political purposes. Teachers’ unions, like all other unions, are required by law to make their federal tax returns available to the public to ensure transparency and accountability.”
Levin added: “The extent to which the FEA and NJEA use tax-exempt funds for political activities must be reported on their tax returns, and they must pay federal income taxes on those expenditures. The FEA and NJEA are concealing their activities from public scrutiny in violation of federal tax laws.”
Landmark Legal Foundation is collecting tax and expenditure information on the NEA and all of its affiliates to determine their compliance with federal and state financial and campaign laws.