Chamber of Commerce Accused of Tax Fraud

[cory777]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — With a war chest rivaling that of the Republican Party itself, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has emerged in the last year as perhaps the Obama administration’s most-well-financed rival on signature policy debates like health care and financial regulation.

Critics on the left have long complained about the chamber’s outsize influence. But now they are taking on the business association directly, charging in a complaint filed Friday with the Internal Revenue Service that it violated tax codes by laundering millions of dollars meant for charitable work from a group with ties to the insurance giant A.I.G.

The complaint was brought by a group called U.S. Chamber Watch, which was created four months ago — with the strong financial backing of labor unions — to scrutinize the Chamber of Commerce’s growing influence and provide a counterbalance.

But chamber officials said they had complied with all tax laws and dismissed the complaint as a political ploy.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/us/politics/11chamber.html

---

Alternative Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com Stand Up and Be Heard!

[vaberella]

1. Fitting.

That's all I can say. I don't even want to measure the amount of corruption the Obama Admin had to walk into after George Bush. This is ridiculous. How many of our Presidents...if I excuse Bush dealt this sort of mess?!

[SpiralHawk]

41. Republicon Family Values -- once again

what vile leeches they are upon the body politic...

C of C my ass -- they are little more than an occult Republicon PAC at this point, and tax cheats to boot...sooo frikking republicon...

[davidinalameda]

2. make them spend their money defending a law suit

good job!

[howmad1]

43. Are you kidding:

they personafy the old saying "Crime Pays". Any bets the C of C get off scott free.

[davidinalameda]

50. are they going to be spending money on the lawsuit

that could have been going to candidates they support?

probably and that's a good thing

[Bitwit1234]

3. Maybe we can send in contributions to help them fight

the Chamber of Commerce. They are as crooked as a corkscrew.

[musette_sf]

4. I like this "Chamber Watch" idea

About time.

[cspanlovr]

34. Make your contribution toThe Chamber Pot!

[xchrom]

5. And may their violations be a financial noose. Nt

[catgirl]

6. What a sleazy group

And some of the individual state Chambers of Commerce are sleazy as well. There should be Chamber watches
for all of them. The CA Chamber just got heavily involved in its states' politics and have actually publically
endorsed republicans (like they need anymore money).

[glinda]

45. Junk mail against Dems come right out of the MN. Chamber of Horrors President's office

as a "Pac" non-profit group listed.

[elleng]

7. Posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x559401

[Jim_Shorts]

8. Perfect metaphor

for whats going on.

BIG BUSINESS STEALING FROM CHARITY

[molly77]

11. Silly me

I thought the Chamber of Commerce was for American businesses. Single payer health care would have helped US business more than any legislation they could pass waaay far away in the land of idiots.

[glinda]

46. They are! They take all the local Businesses' money and use it for a few

top corporate people's desires.

[tsuki]

9. I want one of those loans only in the most technical sense never meant

to be paid back. Preferably from Citibank or Chase.

[Joanne98]

10. YAY

[KoKo]

12. Glad to see Labor Unions unite to do investigation!

:kick:

[lonestarnot]

13. :)

[AC_Mem]

14. Chamber of Commerce

I've had some interaction with a couple COC representatives that were so suspicious that I reported them to my corporate office. They repeatedly call our branch offices and misrepresent who they are and who they work for, and try to sell office products. Something didn't sound "right" and they were somewhat vague when I asked some probing questions so I involved my corporate purchasing department and we set them up. When they called the next time I was able to trip them up and get their website, name, phone numbers and got them to admit that they were from the Chamber of Commerce (in another city) and that the website they were giving me was not "actually" connected with Office Depot (who they said they were in previous calls).

During the calls I discovered that they had a list of every single branch office (we have over 70) with the names of the office managers and access to every item we had ordered and the dates ordered for the past 5 years! The website I got from them was not Office Depot and when we contacted OD's corporate office they had NO idea that the COC was doing this.

It was a total scam, and I'm sure this is just one tiny example of what could be an incredibly huge and ongoing scam on businesses.

[defendandprotect]

18. Interesting story . . . but --

don't quite get the bottom line of it --

Were they actually trying to sell products?

And shipping them?

[AC_Mem]

27. Answer on COC

Yes, I'm sorry if I was not more clear. They were trying to sell products, priced higher than Office Depot and not through our corporate account but through the "Chamber" in another city. They were representing themselves as Office Depot until questioned, at which time they admitted they were the Chamber. I did not purchase from them because it was suspicious and that is when I reported them to my corporate office.

[defendandprotect]

30. Wow -- but still that makes no sense . . . . is the Chamber of Commerce bereft of funds?

Do you think they have to turn to crime to stay in business?

Good for you for figuring this out -- and hope no other company was fooled!!

But, isn't the Chamber financed by local business and even more so up the ladder by

corporations?

I always despised them -- but amazing how much prestige they've enjoyed over decades!!

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

:)

[Kievan Rus]

37. What do you expect? Corporatists have no morals

[1American]

15. The Chamber and the Republican Hate Train

I wish I were a cartoonist! I would picture the Republican Party as a Hate Train, the engine being the cigar-chomping fat boy Rush Limbaugh, while the coal car would picture Beck and Palin stoking the fire box with Muslims as the coal. The passenger cars would carry people like Hannity,Malkin,etc., all the other right-wing "pundits" dressed as Mad Hatters, with Michael Steele in the caboose sound asleep. The whole train would be going backwards on a track with a big NO warning sign every few feet.

ANY CARTOONISTS OUT THERE?

[Alcibiades]

44. +1

[felinetta]

16. Tax fraud, the Chamber of Commerce? How could this be?They seem so honest. Asshats.

[DinahMoeHum]

17. The head of the USCOC, Tom Donohue, is some piece of work.

According to this article, he has NEVER worked in the private sector or for a for-profit corporation.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1007.verini.html

He is basically a shakedown artist and a free spender.

:evilfrown:

[defendandprotect]

19. Just another well organized front group for elites/capitalists .....

glad to see some well deserved dents in their reputation coming --

they've been around a long time and have had automatic respect in towns and

cities -- that should be over.


Another way businesses are organized for foul doing is "The Business Roundtable"

which -- last I had info on them -- was 250 of the largest corporations --

often work against the interests of women, for instance --

Hallmark Cards is a prominent member -- think how many Hallmark cards women buy!!

Have a list somewhere . . . somewhere . . .

When C-span covered them way back, many dropped out cause they didn't want their

names publicized as being part of the group!

[Snotcicles]

20. The working persons worst enemy. The CC. nt

[yourout]

21. I am a small business owner and it will be a cold day in hell before I join.

[SoapBox]

22. Typical. Those that holler the loudest and cause the most trouble...usually have THE MOST to hide.

...The U.S. Chamber is skeezy and has been for a long time. BUT
with the decision from the Activist Judges on the Supreme Court,
they've been "emboldened" to do all kinds of crap.

Major investigation by the IRS is needed.

Then move on to DicKKK Armey and the KKKoch Brothers.

[earcandle]

24. Americans (real Americans with brains) at work at last! Keep it up!

Kick their asses from here to beJesus! 

[orbitalman]

23. I am sure the chamber is in its own BUBBLE....

Which is why it thinks any of its shit doesn't stink.:smoke:

[Plucketeer]

25. NAIL..

the slimy bastards!

[valerief]

26. More like the Chamber of Horrors. They hurt so many Americans with their elitist support. nt

[DeSwiss]

28. K&R

The reality is that institutional establishments, institutions of codified thought, and institutions of societal influence and power, meaning philosophies, dogmas on one hand and corporations and governments on the other, each have a high propensity to engage in denial, dishonesty, and corruption to maintain self-preservation and self-perpetuation. The result is a continuous culture lag where social progress by way of incorporating new socially-helpful scientific advancements is constantly inhibited. It is like walking through a brick wall as the established power orthodoxies continue to perpetuate themselves for their own interests and comforts. ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmHaTirnCc">Peter Joseph

[alp227]

29. CoC attacked Barbara Boxer for being "anti-business"

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4533425

But then look at what CoC's actions do that reflect on what they consider "good business" smh

[craigmatic]

31. The administration should prosecute.

[alfredo]

32. At least they haven't been implicated in human trafficking

yet.

[BrklynLiberal]

48. ..yet...is exactly what I was going to add....

[alfredo]

54. Maybe that's who supplies the workers for the Mariana Islands sweatshops

[Oceansaway]

33. K&R...n/t

[W T F]

35. Throw them in jail and lock 'em up with the sodomites

[Kievan Rus]

36. I'm not surprised by these corporate shills' behavior at all

[TxVietVet]

38. Maybe they can get help from Communist China

whom they dearly love for the lack of regulation and cheap (sometimes slave) labor.

Tell 'em to call up the CC CofC.

[AnnieBW]

39. LOL!

Couldn't happen to a better bunch of assholes!

[mckara]

40. Greed and Corruption: The Pillars of American Business

[Celtic Merlin]

42. What IS the Chamber of Commerce if NOT a union?

It's a union of business owners. That's all it is. They have locals, they pay dues, they have a national leadership. It's a fuggin' UNION! And they spend half their time complaining about Labor Unions and half their money lobbying against Labor Union issues.

They're HYPOCRITES. They use their union to try to eliminate the unions to which their own employees belong. They SUCK.

That they're being accused of laundering money (ala Tom DeLay) is no surprise. They're a bunch of criminals and they got together under the name of "Chamber of Commerce" which makes them Organized Criminals, better known as Organized Crime. They should be broken up under the R.I.C.O. Act.

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[glinda]

49. They do not abide by Union Laws though in that they don't tell their

members what they are doing with their money most of the time.

[Celtic Merlin]

59. So not only are they a union . . .

They're a ROGUE union.

Al Capone got nothing on these guys. Organized crime is organized crime nomatter who practices it.

[Jim_Shorts]

51. WOW

GOOD CALL

[Celtic Merlin]

58. Thank you. [n/t]

[BrklynLiberal]

47. IT is about f**kin time!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mackerel]

52. II used to belong to the Chamber of Commerce

in the town I opened a business. I went to a few mixers but it's all just one big drink fest by a bunch of guys reliving their high school glory days. I told a friend of mine they should set up a DUI check point right outside the mixers.

[BrklynLiberal]

53. lol

[frontrange]

55. Boycott U.S. Chamber of Commerce Businesses

Work at the state and local level to pressure businesses to quit this anti-American organization.

Here's the directory:

http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/accreditation/directory

[burrowowl]

56. Why am I not

surprised!

[ProudDad]

57. C of C is a tax fraud

capitalism is a tax fraud...

and will kill us all...


Also, the C of C is now the laundry for corporate money that will be used to buy elections...

If there are any small business people out there being conned by these pricks, resign your membership...