GOP Rep. Patronis raises concerns about nonprofits with tax-exempt status, calls issue a 'shakedown'

Florida GOP Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who previously was the state's chief financial officer, is raising concerns about nonprofits potentially exploiting tax loopholes to turn such groups into profitable ventures for their leaders or owners. 

“I'm done with this stuff,” Petronis said recently on Just the News: No Noise. “I get at the end of the day, it may not affect … how much I pay for my cup of coffee, but it's unethical and immoral.”

Patronis questioned how non-profit organizations can afford some luxuries. When host John Solomon asked where Patronis would start in the process of eliminating non-profit benefits, he had a quick answer.

“Take an organization that goes out as a non-for-profit but has a skybox and a stadium. Why does that exist?” Patronis asked. “It makes no sense. Why, if you're a non-for-profit, you can afford … a skybox, [that] in some cases, could cost over a million dollars a year."

To be sure, several nonprofits in the U.S. have or have had skyboxes in stadiums, which has resulted in backlash.

Last year, Blue Shield customers protested the nonprofit health insurer having a new luxury suite at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, according to CBS News. 

Like other nonprofits, Blue Shield told media outlets the box was purchased to host customer events, not as a giveaway to executives. The suites at the stadium start at $2.5 million for a 10-year commitment. However, how much Blue Shield spent on its skybox was unclear at the time.

Patronis specifically cited foundations run by the Clinton family and former President Barack Obama.

“They're going around the world parading themselves as some type of leader or some type of great hero when it comes to solving these problems,” he said. “It's nothing more than a shakedown for them to raise money and pay off their supporters.

"People need to understand how that system has worked for a long time, the Clinton Foundation among them."

The Clinton Foundation's most well known project is perhaps its Clinton Health Access Initiative, which organizers say does or has done work in 180 countries. 

Organizations who have been granted nonprofit status in the states in which they are headquartered do not automatically have tax-exempt status, which is granted by the IRS.

The most common nonprofits that have federal nonprofit status are so-called 501(c)(3) organizations. The Clinton Foundation, which was founded in 2001 has such status.

Critics of such groups also point to the high salaries of top executives, which the groups justify by arguing they need top talent to be successful.

Clinton Foundation CEO Kevin Thurm made $499,406 in 2023, according to the website charitywatch.com. 

The foundation also says no member of the political Clinton family, including former President Bill Clinton, "take a salary" or financially benefit from the work of the foundation.