As we told you yesterday, the Center For Consumer Freedom is putting the finishing touches on a massive and detailed online database that “follows the money” that funds anti-consumer activist groups. But one group you might not be able to read about is Chefs Collaborative 2000 (CC2K) — not because we’re not tracking them, but because they’re breaking the law.
We first requested CC2K’s tax documents, so we could research and report on their funding, back in March of this year. Nonprofits like CC2K are legally obligated to provide such documentation upon request. When over a month passed without a response, we sent a second letter in early May. That letter crossed paths with a package from CC2K containing promotional materials and brochures — but no tax information.
In July, Consumer Freedom sent CC2K a third letter. This time, we let them know they were violating federal law by ignoring our repeated requests. They told us to talk to their lawyers.
So we did. CC2K did send us their IRS request for tax-exempt status — but not their filed tax forms. In the course of nine calls to their attorney — and after we wrote directly to the IRS — we discovered why: The IRS has absolutely no record of Chefs Collaborative 2000 ever filing tax returns, even though the group has existed since November 1996.
