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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIRS targeting Tea Party and conservatives was wrong, but these political groups invited IRS scrutiny
Last edited Mon May 13, 2013, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)
from Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas at Wonkbook:
_____ The story thus far seems both chilling and cheering. Employees at the agencys Cincinnati branch did employ a test that, in effect, targeted tea party groups. Whether they meant it to be discriminatory or they simply created one that was discriminatory is in contention, but ultimately immaterial. The IRS, more so than almost any other agency, must act in ways above reproach.
But when the Cincinnati group explained their test to IRS exempt organizations division chief Lois G. Lerner, she objected to it and it was changed. A few months later, the IRS would release new guidance that suggested scrutinizing political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform movement, and after that, organizations with indicators of significant amounts of political campaign intervention (raising questions as to exempt purpose and/or excess private benefit.)
The context for all this is that after Citizens United and some related decisions, the number of groups registering as 501(c)4s doubled. Because the timing of that doubling coincided with a rise in political activism on the right rather than the left, a lot of the politicized groups attempting to register as 501(c)4s were describing their purpose in tea party terms. A popular conceit, for instance, was that they existed to educate on the Constitution even if the particular pedagogical method meant participating in Republican Party primaries and pressuring incumbent politicians.
In looking for that kind of language in 2010, the Cincinnati employees were attempting to create a usable shortcut. Like Willie Sutton robbing banks, they were going where the action was. But they needed a clearer test that also identified the language of the left, even if left-leaning groups werent exhibiting the same surge in activism. And, frankly, it shouldnt have been left to career employees in Cincinnati. The IRS needed clearer rules coming from the top. But the top didnt know what to do with these 501(c)4s, in part because it feared a situation precisely like this one.
It is worth remembering an important fact here: The IRS is supposed to reject groups that are primarily political from registering as 501(c)4s. If theyre going to do that, then they need some kind of test that helps them flag problematic applicants. And that test will have to be a bit impressionistic. It will mean taking the political rhetoric of the moment and watching for it in applications. It will require digging into the finances and activities of groups on the left and the right that seem to be political even as theyre promising their activities are primarily non-political.
read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/13/wonkbook-the-good-reasons-for-the-irss-dumb-mistake/
kentuck
(111,094 posts)Of course, many of these groups were breaking the law with their tax-free deductible claims. It just so happens that 99% of them were Tea Party-created or conservative in nature. And is that why they were not investigated? How much money did Dick Armey make off of his tax-free organization?
Yes, they should be investigated but not for the reasons the Republicans say.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)I welcome an investigation because Republicans are screaming that this was politically motivated.
The head of the IRS is a Bush appointee
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022836081
bigtree
(85,996 posts). . . republican critics are attempting to deflect from their conservative groups' illegal abuse of 501(c)4 tax-exemption that they regularly defend.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)and the head of the IRS was a Democrat... we'd have screams up & down in the media that it was an inside job to make Romney look bad, by either finding stuff on Tea Party groups or by making a part of his administration look bad via sabotage.
bluevoter4life
(787 posts)When Bush was firing US Attorneys for their political leanings?
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Corporations, churches, charities, two teahadists in a basement...
Left, Right, Center... Audit them all.
The national debt could be paid off in no time.
secondvariety
(1,245 posts)I'd love to see a list of all the 501(C) 4 organizations but the list is probably overwhelming. If a 501 (C) is used, the actual names of the contributors should be public records. For every tax dollar these organizations avoid is an extra tax dollar the average person has to pay.
EV_Ares
(6,587 posts)done their job as well as could be but looks like they were overwhelmed with budget cuts & having to make sure these various groups met the criteria for tax exempt status. In the end there probably will be changes that need to be done but I would say why these headings were leading with "IRS targed Tea Party" when they should have been saying and others as well. Doesn't look like it has been strictly just the Tea Party they looked at.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)because the main goal of the GOP is distort, blame, lie anything, to make their base charged with of more outrageous anger towards the Dems all the way to 2014 and 2016.
In my opinion the Tea Party groups are un-America and far far far from being patriots. Matter of fact, majority of Americans thinks they are the terrorist from within. GOPers keeping fuel burning, they may find themselves at the end of the totem poll. Teaharts are coming out speaking and of course sounding more crazier, if that is even possible.
bigtree
(85,996 posts). . . and I think the IRS scrutiny has also highlighted the obvious political element behind the republicans' friends' illegal abuse of 501(c)4 tax-exemption that they support and defend.
Republicans want to say that political groups are being targeted, but these folks applying for exemptions aren't supposed to be politically oriented.
bushisanidiot
(8,064 posts)and it will make the news for all to see. I have a feeling the republicans will shut the investigation down as soon
as something negative pops up for their side. And it WILL pop up.
kentuck
(111,094 posts)And who's squealing the loudest right now??
Initech
(100,069 posts)All their funding comes from Fox News and right wing billionaires with a treasonous, anti government agenda.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)That word is not in the article's headline.
As far as I can tell, this "scandal" consists of the IRS having an automatic filter that looks for terms known to be associated with some organizations that have run fraudulent operations, abusing the tax status. It certainly was not limited to the teabaggers. This is, in fact, the IRS's job. How is that "trolling"?
Was there even a single case where a legitimate Tea party group that was entitled to tax free status was denied that status? I have not heard of any. And we know for certain that the IRS has allowed many shady right-wing organizations to skirt the law in this area.
bigtree
(85,996 posts)changed it.
They_Live
(3,232 posts)of these 501(c)4. I think many of them are breaking the law and need to be investigated, or perhaps the law needs to be changed.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/421160/november-12-2012/colbert-super-pac-shh----secret-second-501c4---trevor-potter?xrs=share_copy
Ganja Ninja
(15,953 posts)All the more reason to expect them to cheat to avoid them. And all the more reason to make sure they don't.