The Kanye West Foundation and the NFL are just some of the tax-exempt organizations that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) says are exploiting the system and driving up rates for the rest of us. Known on Capitol Hill for his annual "Wastebook," which documents wasteful federal spending, Coburn is set to release a 300-page report detailing hundreds of tax breaks and calling for loopholes to be closed.
Our 9,000-page tax code is full of special giveaways and loopholes that companies are able to exploit. To better illustrate this point, BuzzFeed provides a list of examples of organizations and celebrities taking advantage of the system:
The Kanye West Foundation, which was founded to help teen dropouts, spent $553,826 in 2009 on salaries, travel, and other administrative expenses. Only $573 actually went to charity. The charity closed mysteriously in 2011.
The Wyclef Jean Foundation paid the singer $100,000 to perform at his own benefit concert. Jean has defended the integrity of his charitable work. The charity is now defunct. [BuzzFeed]
It's not just celebrity charities: The PGA Tour and the NFL are both granted tax-exempt status, despite the fact that they both make millions of dollars a year, BuzzFeed notes. Roger Goodell, the NFL's commissioner, earned $44 million in 2013.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Coburn, who is set to retire at the end of the year, says he hopes the report will serve as a blueprint for his colleagues to revamp the tax code after he's gone. But the chances of that happening may be unlikely: Just last week, the House voted easily (378-46) to extend nearly four dozen special breaks for another year.
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
Ukraine: Donald Trump pivots againIn the Spotlight US president apparently warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Vladimir Putin’s terms or face destruction during fractious face-to-face
-
Autumn Budget: will Rachel Reeves raid the rich?Talking Point To fill Britain’s financial black hole, the Chancellor will have to consider everything – except an income tax rise
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
