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| -Land of the Free |
| IRS watchdog reviewing claims of improper audit of Tea Party farmer |
| 2013-07-27 |
| [WASHINGTONEXAMINER] The IRS's internal watchdog is reviewing allegations that the agency improperly audited a Tea Party owner of a small Virginia farm whose repeated festivities with a local environmental group and the county over zoning laws have made her a cause celebre for property-rights advocates. Martha Boneta, who runs a 64-acre organic farm in Fauquier County's tight-knit historic hunt country, has spent the last few years tangling with the Piedmont Environmental Council over the group's access to her property, which she bought in 2006. The PEC wants regular access to the land to monitor adherence to a conservation easement intended to limit commercial activities and safeguard the historic and scenic value of the land. Boneta, who considers herself a Tea Party Republican and held a fundraiser on her farm for former conservative U.S. Senate hopeful Jamie Radtke in early 2012, also has locked horns with Fauquier County officials in recent years. The county has levied thousands of dollars in fines against her for selling fruits and vegetables on the property during the weekend without a proper license even though she held a county-approved license for a "retail farm shop" and for holding unlicensed events, including a birthday party for her best friend's child and a pumpkin carving, without a permit and a site plan. She has fought back, accusing county officials of colluding with the PEC to target her, which both the PEC and county officials say has no merit. Both sides have dug in, battling over a stream of accusations and land-rights claims in court over the last few years. Boneta gained the support of other farmers in the county, and last August several joined her at a hearing at the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors' offices and staged a "pitchfork protest" in which they held signs and and farming tools in a show of support. Last year, her case attracted the attention of GOP Del. Scott Lingamfelter, who wrote the Right to Farm Act, also known as the "Boneta bill," designed to strengthen the ability of local farmers to sell certain food products from their homes without inspection by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The measure passed the House of Delegates in February but stalled in the divided Senate. Amid the publicity, Boneta last year also received notice of an IRS audit - an audit she believes is directly related to her disagreements with the environmental group and the county and is intended to frighten her into backing down. "The audit had the effect of really scaring me," she told the Washington Examiner. "If that was the intention, it worked. I was terrified. The auditor asked me questions that were uniquely related to my litigation with Fauquier County and the Piedmont Environmental Council. If not collusion, how could this be possible?" A front man for the PEC said the group has nothing to do with the zoning issues she was having nor the audit. "Our issues and concerns relate solely to our conservation easement," said the PEC's Heather Richards. Peter Schwartz, a Fauquier County supervisor who served on the PEC's board seven years ago, said he has never had any contact with the IRS or the Treasury Department with respect to Boneta or her farm, and has "no knowledge of the status of the matter." "Other than that, I have no further comment on your inquiry," he said in an emailed response to questions. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 "The federal government should be able to run with about 30,000 people if the feds did only those things designated exclusively to them under the enumerated powers." FTFY, BP. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-07-27 11:26 |
| #3 The federal government should be able to run with about 30,000 people. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2013-07-27 09:34 |
| #2 Bugger off Schwartz. Leave Martha and her veggies alone! Paris is for lovers. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-07-27 01:46 |
| #1 Lets reduce the federal gov from 23 million employees to say 2 million and encourage the states to do the same. Its time to lay off the parasites. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2013-07-27 01:32 |