Tea Pary activist says he was singled out by IRS inquiry

Justin Binik-Thomas wants to know why a question about him is among 35 the Liberty Township Tea Party was instructed by the Internal Revenue Service to answer as part of the organization's application for tax-exempt status last year.

"Provide details regarding your relationship with Justin Bink-Thomas," question 26 reads.

With that single misspelled query, Binik-Thomas, of Deer Park, Ohio, believes he became the only individual to be singled out in any of the hundreds of questions asked by Cincinnati IRS employees who gave extra scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status filed by conservative groups.

"That raises quite a few red flags of concern," Binik-Thomas, 31, said Thursday. "Why are you asking about me? What are you going to do with that information?"

The Cincinnati IRS office is tasked with determining which organizations are qualified to be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which allows not only tax-exempt status but lets those groups keep their donors anonymous. They also can lobby and participate in political campaigns as long as their primary purpose is the promotion of "social welfare."

Binik-Thomas has no idea why he was singled out in the questionnaire included in a letter to the Tea Party group dated March 1, 2012. While he's a co-founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party, the business owner isn't even a member of the Liberty Township group.

Former Ohio GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt tried to help Binik-Thomas get answers last year. But all he got back was a letter stating that the IRS would never ask about an individual by name.

Tim Savaglio is concerned, too. He's the Liberty Township Tea Party board member who has been trying to get the organization's tax-exempt status approved.

He still hasn't gotten a ­ruling on the group's request for 501(c)(4) status. Savaglio is more than a little frustrated.

"We've let the process work for three years," he said. "All we want to do is sit down with the IRS and have them tell us where we're at, what their concerns are and give us an opportunity to assuage their concerns and move forward. I am of the opinion right now that it's time to come to a conclusion. I think it is reasonable."

After all, Savaglio has lived the scandal that much of the rest of the nation has just learned about.

A retired project manager, Savaglio estimates he's spent hundreds of hours over the past three years answering the additional questions his group has gotten from the IRS.

Others, he found intrusive. There was the question about Binik-Thomas. Several others asked how many volunteers the group had, how many volunteers were devoted to each of the group's activities and what types of resources were devoted to each activity.

"It's like the Obama campaign is doing opposition research," Savaglio said. "That's what these questions appear to be in retrospect."

Although he's been at work trying to secure tax-exempt status for the group for years, Savaglio still has no ruling.