To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
IRS: Investigate Tax-Exempt Support for West Bank Settlements
Just Foreign Policy
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control should investigate tax-exempt donations from the U.S. to settlements in the West Bank, to ensure that such donations comply with all U.S. laws and regulations, and to ensure that tax-exempt U.S. organizations which support settlements in the West Bank are not violating their tax-exempt status.
Why is this important?
As U.S. officials like Secretary of State John Kerry have stated, Israeli settlements in the West Bank are one of the greatest obstacles to achieving a diplomatic agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service [IRS] and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] have been permissive of private U.S. financial support for Israeli settlements that the U.S. government officially opposes; ironically, even more permissive than Israeli law. [1] The fact that financial supporters of the settlements have abused U.S. tax law has been documented by the New York Times. [2] It’s time for U.S. policy to change. The IRS and OFAC have the legal authority to act.
Urge the Administration to investigate abuse of U.S. tax law by financial supporters of West Bank settlements by signing our petition.
References:
1. “It's Really The Settlements, Stupid!” Ambassador Marc Ginsberg (former
White House Middle East Adviser), 10/15/2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amb-marc-ginsberg/its-really-the-settlement_b_5993010.html
2. “Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank,” Jim Rutenberg, Mike McIntire and Ethan Bronner, New York Times, July 5, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/world/middleeast/06settle.html