VOCES Action received “special” attention from the IRS when it submitted its 501(c)4 application. But why? The non-profit doesn’t mention “tea party” or “patriot” in its mission statement and stays away from “political” endorsements.
Adryana Boyne, VOCES Action founder and president, believes the group was targeted because of her personal involvement in the conservative Hispanic media. VOCES stands for Voices Offering Conservative Empowering Solutions and is a national organization based in Dallas, Texas.
Boyne’s regular appearances on television and keynote speeches at tea-party rallies have made her a national conservative leader in the Latino community.
“VOCES focuses on family issues, pro-life issues, citizenship classes, conservative fiscal thinking, and conservative values so [Hispanics] can work hard on what they need,” Boyne said. “We never mention the word ‘Republican.’”
When VOCES Action applied for 501(c)4 status in 2009, the IRS sent 27 pages of questions. Boyne said the IRS requested names and addresses of every single member, how much money was raised, and names of all donors.
“They asked me how many former elected officials I met with and how much time I spent with each,” Boyne added.
The IRS also requested transcripts of Boyne’s speeches, programs she was involved with, tweets, Facebook posts, and names of board members.
“The length and the expense for me to pay my attorneys and the consuming time was absolutely crazy,” Boyne said.
After years of complying with the IRS’s requests, and no 501(c)4 approval, Boyne’s husband wrote a letter to the IRS complaining about its “intrusive behavior” and warned they were going to bring their concerns to Congress.
“Two weeks later we were approved for our 501(c)4,” Boyne said.
When Boyne was visiting D.C. a few weeks ago, Heritage’s Israel Ortega had the chance to get the inside scoop about the IRS’s efforts to block her outreach. Watch his interview above.
