Want To Have Provide Written Documentation of Rape or Incest to an IRS Agent?
Guess what? The Republicans want to make rape, incest and survival subjects for IRS audits! Not only that, they want to narrow the definition of what rape IS.
And it looks like they might succeed on both counts.
Thomas Barthold, the chief of staff of the nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee, confirmed that one consequence of the Republicans' "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" would be to turn IRS agents into abortion cops-that is, during an audit, they'd have to determine, from evidence provided by the taxpayer, whether any tax benefit had been inappropriately used to pay for an abortion.
Excerpt: The proposed law, also known as H.R. 3, extends the reach of the Hyde Amendment--which bans federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake-into many parts of the federal tax code. In some cases, the law would forbid using tax benefits--like credits or deductions--to pay for abortions or health insurance that covers abortion. If an American who used such a benefit were to be audited, Barthold said, the burden of proof would lie with the taxpayer to provide documentation, for example, that her abortion fell under the rape/incest/life-of-the-mother exception, or that the health insurance she had purchased did not cover abortions.
"Were this to become law, people could end up in an audit, the subject of which could be abortion, rape, and incest," says Christopher Bergin, the head of Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit tax policy group. "If you pass the law like this, the IRS would be required to enforce it."
The proposal, which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has declared a top priority of the new Republican Congress, has 221 cosponsors and is expected to pass the House easily. The bill caused controversy and sparked a national protest campaign in January after Mother Jones reported that it would limit the Hyde Amendment's rape exception to cases of "forcible rape." Experts told Mother Jones that move could prevent Medicaid from paying for abortions in many rape cases, including statutory rapes.
Here's the text of the bill, if you want to take a look at it: H.R. 3
Specific Organizations Supporting H.R.3:
* American Family Association
* National Right to Life Committee
* Susan B. Anthony List (according their site, they're a "political action committee helping pro-life women gain election to Congress")
* Family Research Council
* Priests for Life
* United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
* Concerned Women for America (according to their site, they're a "US coalition of conservative women which promotes Biblical values and family traditions")
* Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles
Oh, and just so you know who's already been bought and paid for...
Top recipients for ALL supporting interest groups:
Name Amount Received Vote On Passage
Rep. Addison Wilson [R, SC-2] $201,581
Rep. Michele Bachmann [R, MN-6] $166,372
Rep. Tom Graves [R, GA-9] $151,518
Rep. William Owens [D, NY-23] $138,067
Rep. Allen West [R, FL-22] $120,766
Rep. Paul Broun [R, GA-10] $110,267
Rep. Tim Huelskamp [R, KS-1] $93,158
Rep. Jeff Duncan [R, SC-3] $79,047
Rep. Tom McClintock [R, CA-4] $72,637
Rep. Ken Calvert [R, CA-44] $68,412
Sen. Patrick Toomey [R, PA] $944,539
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA] $794,473
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] $445,721
Sen. Marco Rubio [R, FL] $442,274
Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC] $236,207
Sen. John Thune [R, SD] $172,377
Sen. Robert Portman [R, OH] $166,501
Sen. Mark Kirk [R, IL] $115,250
Sen. John McCain [R, AZ] $107,582
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R, OK] $103,406
And it looks like they might succeed on both counts.
Thomas Barthold, the chief of staff of the nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee, confirmed that one consequence of the Republicans' "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" would be to turn IRS agents into abortion cops-that is, during an audit, they'd have to determine, from evidence provided by the taxpayer, whether any tax benefit had been inappropriately used to pay for an abortion.
Excerpt: The proposed law, also known as H.R. 3, extends the reach of the Hyde Amendment--which bans federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake-into many parts of the federal tax code. In some cases, the law would forbid using tax benefits--like credits or deductions--to pay for abortions or health insurance that covers abortion. If an American who used such a benefit were to be audited, Barthold said, the burden of proof would lie with the taxpayer to provide documentation, for example, that her abortion fell under the rape/incest/life-of-the-mother exception, or that the health insurance she had purchased did not cover abortions.
"Were this to become law, people could end up in an audit, the subject of which could be abortion, rape, and incest," says Christopher Bergin, the head of Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit tax policy group. "If you pass the law like this, the IRS would be required to enforce it."
The proposal, which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has declared a top priority of the new Republican Congress, has 221 cosponsors and is expected to pass the House easily. The bill caused controversy and sparked a national protest campaign in January after Mother Jones reported that it would limit the Hyde Amendment's rape exception to cases of "forcible rape." Experts told Mother Jones that move could prevent Medicaid from paying for abortions in many rape cases, including statutory rapes.
Here's the text of the bill, if you want to take a look at it: H.R. 3
Specific Organizations Supporting H.R.3:
* American Family Association
* National Right to Life Committee
* Susan B. Anthony List (according their site, they're a "political action committee helping pro-life women gain election to Congress")
* Family Research Council
* Priests for Life
* United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
* Concerned Women for America (according to their site, they're a "US coalition of conservative women which promotes Biblical values and family traditions")
* Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles
Oh, and just so you know who's already been bought and paid for...
Top recipients for ALL supporting interest groups:
Name Amount Received Vote On Passage
Rep. Addison Wilson [R, SC-2] $201,581
Rep. Michele Bachmann [R, MN-6] $166,372
Rep. Tom Graves [R, GA-9] $151,518
Rep. William Owens [D, NY-23] $138,067
Rep. Allen West [R, FL-22] $120,766
Rep. Paul Broun [R, GA-10] $110,267
Rep. Tim Huelskamp [R, KS-1] $93,158
Rep. Jeff Duncan [R, SC-3] $79,047
Rep. Tom McClintock [R, CA-4] $72,637
Rep. Ken Calvert [R, CA-44] $68,412
Sen. Patrick Toomey [R, PA] $944,539
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA] $794,473
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] $445,721
Sen. Marco Rubio [R, FL] $442,274
Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC] $236,207
Sen. John Thune [R, SD] $172,377
Sen. Robert Portman [R, OH] $166,501
Sen. Mark Kirk [R, IL] $115,250
Sen. John McCain [R, AZ] $107,582
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R, OK] $103,406