"IRS problem started with vague tax exemption rules"

[applegrove]

IRS problem started with vague tax exemption rules

By Matea Gold at the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-irs-analysis-20130517,0,4190991.story

"SNIP.................

The stepped-up role of tax-exempt groups in politics has stymied the Federal Election Commission, which has deadlocked on questions about how much disclosure is required of advocacy organizations that engage in elections.

That has left much of their regulation in the hands of the IRS, which has never clearly defined how much political activity is allowed for social welfare organizations.

The vagueness of the law may have contributed to the problems, President Obama said Thursday in his response to the controversy. Congress and his administration need to "look at some of the laws that create a bunch of ambiguity in which the IRS may not have enough guidance," he said.

The IRS' Cincinnati office, in trying to determine which applicants for tax exemption might have politics as their primary purpose, inappropriately singled out groups with "tea party" or similar words in their paperwork, according to an inspector general's report released Tuesday. Some of the staff handling the applications were confused about what is permitted, the report said. The situation underscored how ill-equipped the agency is to deal with its regulatory charge, campaign finance experts said.


.................SNIP"

[yourout]

1. This should be so simple.....engage in political activity and lose your non-profit status. No ifs...

ands or buts.

[Bjorn Against]

2. The law is actually quite explicit

It says 501c(4) groups must be operated exclusively for social welfare purposes and can not be involved in politics. The IRS likes to pretend the law says "primarily" instead of exclusively, but they are not enforcing the law as it was written.

[DCKit]

3. And that's exactly what the IRS codes need to be re-written and simplified.

Any two tax attorneys could prove the other wrong in any tax case. The code was written as a tax attorney and accounting welfare scheme.

It shouldn't be rocket surgery. If it takes the average 'Murkin three hours to fill out the 1040EZ, they're not doing it right.