Originally published on Forbes.com.
I hate to go to an event if I can’t bring back a tax story. There were arguably three such at the Jill Stein rally in Northampton, MA Sunday night so I was really glad I convinced my covivant to drive out there with me. CV really dislikes those types of events and was able to tune out much of it by bringing her kindle along. The venue is one of the tax stories so I’ll save that.
Out Front
After a nice Italian dinner, we mosied over to the rally site where a small crowd had already gathered. An older fellow from upstate New York, who gave his name as Bennett was selling buttons for two dollars each or whatever you cared to pay. I paid ten bucks for two and put one on to blend in better. CV declined a button, so I gave it to another passerby.
Seeing my little notebook, Bennett asked if I was NSA or FBI. I told him that I was part of a joint task force – kind of a tiger team. I’m pretty sure he realized I was kidding. I asked him whether he was worried about a Trump victory. He told me that he was equally terrified of either Trump or Clinton. Despite all Trump’s tough talk, it is Clinton that has a record of getting people killed and supporting fracking in 37 countries. Bennett even felt a Clinton victory would be worse than a Trump victory, since Trump, being an outsider would have less ability to get bad things done. There were a number of “Jill Not Hill” signs making it clear who the main opponent is.
The Warm-up
The lead-off speaker was Darlene Elias a Green Party co-chair and candidate for city council in Holyoke, MA. She talked about the current crisis in Puerto Rico and how the Green Party helped prevent her and other tenants in South Holyoke from being displaced by fires. Ben Grosscup provided music including a song based on Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire – “I felt the Bern, Bern, Bern” and “The Lesser Evil and The Greater Good”. There was also someone from the campaign to get U Mass to divest fossil fuel investments. (Something which succeeded by the way). That’s not a complete rundown, but it gives you the flavor.
Candidate On The Run
Finally, Jill Stein came on to much applause. We got to have the excitement of a presidential candidate on the run since there is an outstanding arrest warrant in North Dakota from her actions in support of protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. She made a case that she could actually win the election if her message got out since her plan to forgive student debt would benefit 43 million people. She would spark a Green New Deal which would create 20 million jobs for a crash program to get us on 100% renewable energy with locally grown organic food and inter-city transit by train that would be reached by bike and pedestrian paths.
A Tiny Tax
The only part of the tax program that she mentioned is a financial transactions tax, which she characterized as making Wall Street pay a sales tax. A “tiny tax” of 50 basis points would pay for free college education for everybody. Much of the rest of the program would be financed by cutting the defense budget in half. With the Green New Deal making us 100% renewable, there will not have to be any wars for oil.
So that’s the first tax story from the event. The financial transactions tax is front and center on the Green agenda.
How Is This Going On In A Church ?
The second tax story is the venue. The rally was held at the First Churches of Northampton. As you went to the front of the church, the altar area was plastered with signs – “Hill not Jill” and I had this “Is this really a church?” moment. It is. “First Churches” is actually just one church and it is on the site of the literal first church which would have been a necessary part of starting a town back in 1653. If you have heard of one 18th Century Massachusetts preacher it is probably Jonathan Edwards and this is where he preached. The actual building is the fifth. Lot of fires. Maybe karmic payback for that “Sinners in the hands of an angry god” sermon.
At any rate, most if not all of the Massachusetts first parishes ended up affiliated with either the Unitarian Universalist Association or the United Church of Christ, the latter in the case of Northampton. The UCC congregation ended up merging with Northampton’s First Baptist Church, a johnny come lately not founded until 1822. That is why it is “churches”.
At any rate, churches and politics have been in the news of late and it is something I follow. As a matter of fact, Paul Streckfus just ran a reprint of one of my church-state articles in the EO Tax Journal. Did First Churches imperil its exempt status by hosting Jill Stein and the Greens? I spoke with Reverend Todd Weir, Senior Pastor to get a sense of that.
He told me that they try to be very careful about such matters. He did not attend the event himself and there were no church announcements about it. The standard rate for renting the sanctuary is $800. If you are raising money for Syrian refugees or something like that, they might cut you a break, but the Green Party paid full freight. This all fits in nicely with the exception carved out in Revenue Ruling 2007-41 (Situation 17)
Museum K is a section 501(c)(3) organization. It owns an historic building that has a large hall suitable for hosting dinners and receptions. For several years, Museum K has made the hall available for rent to members of the public. Standard fees are set for renting the hall based on the number of people in attendance, and a number of different organizations have rented the hall. Museum K rents the hall on a first come, first served basis. Candidate P rents Museum K’s social hall for a fundraising dinner. Candidate P’s campaign pays the standard fee for the dinner. Museum K is not involved in political campaign intervention as a result of renting the hall to Candidate P for use as the site of a campaign fundraising dinner.
Trump Is A Different Story
Except ! – I asked Reverend Weir what would have happened if the Trump campaign had asked to rent the church. He initially shifted ground a bit indicating that any old Republican would probably be fine and that despite a general liberal-leaning his church has Republican members. When it comes to Trump though, he would have to take into account the sensibilities of the congregation which is 40% lesbian (It’s Northampton ya know).
I haven’t been paying attention enough as anti-gay is not what pops into my mind right away when it comes to Trump. I did find this quote on gay marriage interesting and perhaps it is the type of thing Reverend Weir would be concerned about. On same-sex marriage Trump reportedly said:
It’s like in golf. A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.
What is intriguing about this is that it is perfect for IRS scandal mongers. If the IRS does nothing, which is most likely, it is because Stein is leftist and they only persecute the right. If the IRS launches an inquiry, it is to help Clinton.
No Answer To Lack Of Stein Tax Transparency
The third story turns out to be a non-story, perhaps my own personal obsession. When I interviewed Doctor Stein in 2012, she promised that she would be releasing her tax returns soon. Not quite four years later, she released pages one and two of her 2015 Form 1040. I had asked button selling Bennett about that and submitted a written question at the beginning of the event.
Jill Stein did not go with the written questions preferring questions from the crowd. Given the softballs she was getting thrown I was a little suspicious that they were plants. To be fair though somebody asking about space exploration seemed to catch her off guard. Plenty of money for space exploration when we cut the defense budget in half. They never got to me, finishing with a paean to Jill’s commitment to LGBTQ rights. It’s Northampton, ya know. So Jill Stein’s lack of tax transparency remains a non-issue.