The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "tax credits" ...
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Playing with Fire
“Playing with Fire” focuses on a public board well out of the public eye, but one that could cost New Orleans taxpayers millions of dollars every year. After a month of digging through thousands of pages of records at the New Orleans Firefighters Pension Fund, WVUE-TV and Lee Zurik revealed questionable salaries, spending, and management. Among the notable discoveries: a $70,000 raise and $90,000 lump sum payout for the board Secretary-Treasurer/CEO; tens of thousands of dollars in questionable credit card charges by the board; and tens of millions of dollars in questionable investments. This last element is perhaps the most egregious for the citizens of New Orleans who are left to foot the bill for any pension fund shortfalls. This multi part series launched an investigation by the city’s inspector general, forced the board to change polices and led to charges filed by the state ethics board against two of the principals in our series.
Tags: New Orleans; taxes; taxpayers; credit cards
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Investigating the IRS
As the national deficit soared, WTHR exposed fraud, confusion and government mismanagement that resulted in illegal immigrants getting billions of dollars in improper tax credits and refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. WTHR gained unparalleled access to tax records and immigrant communities to show exactly how the fraud was committed. The investigation revealed the IRS had known about the widespread problems for a decade but failed to act, and that IRS managers actively encouraged their tax examiners to ignore blatant signs of fraud. WTHR’s investigation quickly gained national attention, attracted more than 9 million online views, sparked intense debate and action by Congress, and triggered immediate reforms by the IRS. Following a series of in-depth follow-ups by WTHR and an Inspector General audit that confirmed all of WTHR’s findings, the IRS announced final rule changes in December designed to reduce the massive fraud and to save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Tags: tax fraud; taxes; taxpayers; Internal Revenue Service
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Enterprise Zones
The articles probed a tax-credit program, which originally was created to help distressed areas in Colorado. The articles showed the program has expanded beyond its original intent.
Tags: tax credits; taxes; jobs
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Taxing Baltimore
Baltimore City' s high property tax rate is often cited as a major drag on its ability to keep and and attract both residents and businesses. Our reporting showed, for the first time, how a decades-old tax credit for homeowners has made it nearly impossible for the city to cut its rate, while also causing massive disparities in tax bills even when houses have the same value.
Tags: homeowners; property taxes; tax credit
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Grave Mistakes
An investigation showing how the database of deceased Americans created in 1980 under the Freedom of Information Act accidentally lists thousands of Americans as deceased, suffering frozen bank accounts, refused credit cards, denied student and mortgage loans, or arrests for suspected identity theft. It also exposes how identity thieves have learned to use the filed to commit numerous acts of identity theft for tax fraud.
Tags: identity theft; deceased; federal records; tax fraud
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Green Grants: Tracking the Energy Stimulants
The 2009 stimulus bill created a program that was supposed to drive development of wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. But when reporter Anne C. Mulkern dug into the grants in lieu of tax credits effort, she uncovered that in many cases, federal money did little to stimulate new business investments.
Tags: stimulus; green power grants; taxpayer money; grants; green grants
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The Tuition Tax Credit
"Arizona began a groundbreaking tax credit program that steered public revenue to private hands to distribute private-school scholarships." This program was to help the poor obtain the same educational opportunities and lower the cost of education. But this isn't the case, which this series reveals in multiple articles, because the poor still attend public schools.
Tags: Tax Credit; Public revenues; Private-school; Scholarships; Poor; Public schools; Nonprofit organizations; State; Federal; Education; Arizona; FOIA
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Toxic Taxes
Toxic Taxes explores how Obama's fiscal stimulus tax credits will expand business for unregulated tax preparers and create more opportunities to commit fraud.
Tags: unlicensed; unregulated; tax; tax preparers; tax credits; Obama administration; fiscal stimulus; H&R Block; fraud; Internal Revenue Service;
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Takings Initiatives Accountability Project: The Center for Public Integrity investigates ballot initiatives that would radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states
The [non-partisan]Center for Public Integrity investigated 2006 "ballot initiatives that were designed to radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states. They discovered that a trio of "secret donors" accounted for 99% of the propostions' bankrolls, and some of the initiatives did not comply with campaign-finance and other regulations. Then the Center revealed that 85 percent of the funding was coming from a single wealthy real estate investor and Libertarian activist, Howard RIch All but the Arizona inititative failed at the ballot. The Center for Public Integrity set up a stand-alone website-- www.takings initiatives.org-- and filed more than 50 articles on it. "Our general practice-- and a novel one as far as we can tell-- was to mount verbatim transcripts of the interviews on our website, including audio recordings where available. We sought to allow proponents, opponents funders and experts to have a chance to present their side of the story in their own words." The Center also checked with state and federal regulators for compliance of relevant laws and regulations.
Tags: Takings Initiatives; takings clause; ballot initiatives; land-use regulation; environmental regulation; tax-exempt organizations; Howard Rich; Andrea Millen Rich; Council for Responsible Government; William A. Wilson; state campaign-finance filings; public records requests; state freedom of information requests; America At Its Best; Americans for Limited Government; John Tillman; Howard Ahmanson; Fieldstead & Company; property rights; prefessional signature-gatherers; Colorado At Its Best; term limits; nonprofit advocacy organizations; Sam Adams Alliance; Sam Adams Foundation; Legislative Education Action Drive; Parents in Charge Foundation; Social Security Choice.org; Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau; educational vouchers; tuition tax credits; National Taxpayers Union; First Class Education; Susquehanna International Group; Jeffrey YAss; Cato Institute; Alliance for School Choice; Decision Education Foundation; Eric Brooks; Susan Mitchell; Pete Sepp; Kern Family Foundation; Generac Power Systems, Inc.; Milton Friedman; Taxpayer Bill of Rights; TABOR; Laird Maxwell; This House is MY Home; John Whitehead; Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; Exoxemis, Inc.; Family Farm Preservation Pact; Citizens for Community Protection; Kelo v. City of New London; eminent domain; New York Millionaires Assistance Act; Wallace Global Fund; Nicholas C. Dranias; PRNewswire; Eric O'Keefe; getliberty.com; George Soros
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Winning Friends and Influencing Commissioners
"This story project revealed how the largest private developer if tax-credit affordable housing in Texas co-opted commissioners serving on the Bexar County Housing Authority by providing undisclosed financial incentives to secure the agency's support for tax breaks needed to build multimillion dollar apartment complexes."