
- When they hire a known child sex offender as an OBGYN and he winds up back in jail for child pornography charges,
- When the City of Columbus simultaneously sues them for unpaid back taxes while also passing a law designed to keep GCRTL off the sidewalks (and possibly stopping us from exposing their tax issues and legal troubles),
- When a (former) employee starts a tee-shirt company with the proceeds to buy billboard advertising space,
- When it has to use crowd-funding so that it can apply for professional licensing, or
- When the State of Ohio files a lien against it for unpaid CAT and withholding taxes, or
- All of the above.
If you guessed “6) All of the above,” you would be correct.
Two years ago, we learned that one of the abortion providers at Founder’s and Capital Care was indicted on federal child pornography charges. One year ago, we learned that the City of Columbus was suing them for owing back taxes. Around that same time, an employee and abortion supporter started the “Pro Choice Cats” campaign to purchase billboard advertising for the clinic. Four months ago, City Council members attempted to enact legislation that would restrict our right to pray and protest within fifteen feet of the clinic property line (the legislation was amended and the objectionable language removed). Three days ago, we learned that a supporter of the Toledo office (Capital Care Network) was resorting to crowdfunding in order for the clinic to raise the $250 fee to apply to the National Abortion Federation and the $750 NAF site visit fee. Today, we learned that the State of Ohio has also filed at least three tax liens against the owner/manager of Founder’s and Capital Care Network. One of the liens is for $64,688.86 in unpaid withholding tax, one is for $32,666.01 in unpaid withholding tax, and the third is for $13,564.03 in unpaid Commercial Activities Tax (CAT). The judgement lien information does not indicate if the back taxes were owed for one year or several years. However, we do know without a doubt that this represents millions of dollars in gross receipts to the clinic’s owner/manager. How? Because Ohio’s CAT, or commercial activities tax, levied at .26% (that’s 0.0026) on a business’s gross receipts, with the first million exempt (there are exemptions for small businesses and an alternate structure for those businesses with a million dollars or less in receipts each year). With what the clinic owes, it is certain that the business is bringing in more than a million dollars a year.
So the big question is – if the abortion clinic is bringing in more than a million dollars each year and not paying taxes, why on earth does it need to resort to selling tee-shirts to pay for advertising billboards and crowdfunding to pay professional licensing applications?
Earlier this week, a supporter of the Toledo Capital Care (owned/managed by the same entity that owns and manages the Columbus Founder’s facility) started a “YouCaring” crowd-funding campaign. According to YouCaring, its website is a platform to raise money for individuals and nonprofits (not businesses) for humanitarian purposes. It appears as though the YouCaring website has disabled the Capital Care Network fundraiser, probably because funding business licenses for multi-million dollar abortion businesses is not actually considered a humanitarian need. That notwithstanding, the campaign sought to raise $1000 so that the clinic could apply to be a member of the National Abortion Federation. Two of the "benefits" of membership? Discounts on abortion supplies and getting referrals from their abortion hotline.
Don’t get us wrong, abortion is always wrong because it involved the intentional destruction of innocent human life. Abortion providers are not morally better when they have clean offices, refuse to hire pedophiles, or pay their taxes. However, we do believe that abortion, filthy facilities, convicted child sex predators, and tax-cheating seem to go hand-in-hand at an astonishing rate. We suspect that is because, as St. Teresa of Kolkata is often quoted to have said, “If abortion isn’t wrong, then nothing is wrong.”
Perhaps all of the people walking around wearing their "Pro-Choice Cat” tee shirts and (warning, vulgar) stickers should consider for a moment funding Tax-Cheat Terrie’s CAT Tax bill.
Until then, we will continue our work in prayer, education, advocacy, and investigating the truth about abortion.
It is undeniable that our work to bring the light of prayer and truth to the abortion clinic is having an effect. The cracks are starting to show and grow, and we are going to keep doing this work until either abortion is no more or we do not have the funds to go on. Unlike Founder's, we do not have a million dollars in gross receipts coming in, and we pay all of the taxes, licenses, and fees that we are required to by local, state, and federal law. This has been a difficult year for us, financially. If you have not yet supported our work, can you consider making a donation today? You can do so on our secure, online portal, by sending a check in the mail (665 E Dublin Granville Rd, St 115, Columbus OH 43229), or by joining or donating to our Prayer-a-Thon.
Update: It seems that Planned Parenthood has a tax problem, albeit a much lesser one, too.