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Former GB Packer LeRoy Butler’s Charity May Have Kind of Forgotten To File With the IRS

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

And just wait until you see the part where he bitches on Twitter about it.

First, the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The IRS is looking into the charity run by former Green Bay Packers player LeRoy Butler.

The agency is probing why Butler has been raising money in Wisconsin over the last decade but has made only one annual filing, Gannett Wisconsin Media reported Thursday.

The LeRoy Butler Foundation hasn't filed with the IRS since 2002, even though Butler continued raising money under that name through this year. A scholarship fund founded in 2009 had its tax-exempt status revoked after failing to file returns by 2012. The only return on file from Butler since 2002 is a short-form 2011 filing for the fund.

Butler took to Twitter as these accusations first started leaking out to vent.

The BEST part about this whole thing is that — I shit you not — as I was copying the code to embed the second tweet he posted shortly after the one above, it was deleted. YAY SCREENSHOTS, we saw what you said there, LeRoy. And seriously, why wait until 3 days later to nuke your complaint?

Um. This just got awkward.

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What Does the IRS Have Against Boobs?

We’re asking this question in a collective sense. Call it a hunch but we’re pretty sure that Doug Shulman votes “T” on the T&A question.

To clarify, we’re talking about breast feeding. More specifically about breast pumps for nursing mothers.

You see, the IRS isn’t convinced that breast-feeding has enough health benefits to qualify as a form of medical care, thus, the pumps are not covered. From a tax/health policy standpoint, the Service is more concerned with teeth (false), skin (clear) and noses (not stuffy).

Denture wearers will get a tax break on the cost of adhesives to keep their false teeth in place. So will acne sufferers who buy pimple creams.

People whose children have severe allergies might even be allowed the break for replacing grass with artificial turf since it could be considered a medical expense.

But nursing mothers will not be allowed to use their tax-sheltered health care accounts to pay for breast pumps and other supplies.

That is because the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that breast-feeding does not have enough health benefits to quality as a form of medical care.

The Times explains that under the healthcare overhaul, “preventive procedures” were going to be encouraged to control costs. Despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, the IRS isn’t budging on the issue:

I.R.S. officials say they consider breast milk a food that can promote good health, the same way that eating citrus fruit can prevent scurvy. But because the I.R.S. code considers nutrition a necessity rather than a medical condition, the agency’s analysts view the cost of breast pumps, bottles and pads as no more deserving of a tax break than an orange juicer.

Because tools that will help a mother feed a new-born human being natural food is exactly the same thing as the Omega 4000. Got it.

Acne Cream? Tax-Sheltered. Breast Pump? No. [NYT]

IRS Unit Fully Intends to Make Rich People’s Audit Experience as Unpleasant as Possible

As you my have heard, being mega-rich these days has its disadvantages, including but not limited to – 1) governments getting overly reliant on the wealthy pitching in with revenues; 2) people giving you a hard time when you buy new toys; 3) your own kind selling you out.

Because times are tough and elected officials are having difficulty convincing anyone that higher taxes for the middle class are a good idea, the affluent are having the unfortunate luck to experience the rigor of the Global High Wealth Industry Group – a new unit within the IRS designed to perform the financial equivalent of a full rectal exam:

The reviews performed so far have been particularly harsh, say attorneys. Investors are being asked to turn over numerous hard-to-get documents in short order. These are “the audits from hell that your grandfather warned you about,” says Charles P. Rettig, a partner at Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez in Beverly Hills, Calif.

And don’t think for a second that the Service is putting scrubs on these assignments. Extra-special auditees deserve extra-special auditors:

Miriam L. Fisher, a tax attorney and partner at law firm Morgan Lewis in Washington, says the audit teams comprise “A-list examiners” drawn from around the country who are knowledgeable and experienced with various financial products and industries. The audits are so intensive that each team is handling only a few right now and they aren’t far along in the process, she says.

IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge says the group is looking at “individuals who have a complex set of situations, and looking at the complete financial set up.” She acknowledged that “these cases are full audits.”

Although you would never expect an IRS audit to be as delightful as, say, your average weekend in the Hamptons but haven’t rich people suffered enough? The least the IRS examiners could do is bring something from Maison du Chocolat to bring the tension down a notch.

[via TaxProf]