The IRS's Bizarre Parsing of the Word 'Targeted'
How the IRS could deny something that seems plainly true.
In March 22, 2012, then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman testified before a House Ways & Means subcommittee that there was no targeting of Tea Party groups for special scrutiny by the agency.
"We've seen some recent press allegations that the IRS is targeting certain Tea Party groups across the country -- requesting owners' documents requests, delaying approval for tax-exempt status and that kind of thing," Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana observed during the Q&A portion of the hearing. "Can you elaborate on what's going on with that? Can you give us assurances that the IRS is not targeting particular groups based on political leanings?"
Shulman's answer is worth considering at length, because it helps explain what otherwise seems a mystifying denial. It's all about the culture of the IRS and what its more general approach to people is. His reply:
Thanks for bringing this up because I think there's been a lot of press about this and a lot of moving information, so I appreciate the opportunity to clarify. First, let me start by saying, yes, I can give you assurances. As you know, we pride ourselves on being a non-political, non-partisan organization. I am the only -- me and our chief counsel -- are the only presidential appointees, and I have a five-year term that runs through presidential elections, just so we will have none of that kind of political intervention in things that we do.
For 501 (c)(4) organizations, which is what's been in the press, organizations do not need to apply for tax exemption. Organizations can actually hold themselves out as 501 (c)(4) organizations and then file a 990 with us.
The organizations that have been in the press are all ones that are in the application process.
First of all, I think it's very important to emphasize that all of these organizations came in voluntarily.
They did not need to engage the IRS in a back-and-forth.
They could have held themselves out, filed a 990, and if we had seen an issue, we would have engaged but otherwise we wouldn't....
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The IRS's Bizarre Parsing of the Word 'Targeted'