Ugh. More information about the IRS targeting groups and how they did it

[cali]

Let's be honest: If a republican administration had done this, DU would be screaming about it.


When tax agents started singling out non-profit groups for extra scrutiny in 2010, they looked at first only for key words such as 'Tea Party,' but later they focused on criticisms by groups of "how the country is being run," according to investigative findings reviewed by Reuters on Sunday.

Over two years, IRS field office agents repeatedly changed their criteria while sifting through thousands of applications from groups seeking tax-exempt status to select ones for possible closer examination, the findings showed.


At one point, the agents chose to screen applications from groups focused on making "America a better place to live."

<snip>


"Issues" criteria were also used, TIGTA found. Scrutiny was being given to references to "Government spending, Government debt, or taxes; Education of the public via advocacy/lobbying to 'make America a better place to live;' and Statements in the case file (that) criticize how the country is being run."

<snip>

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/13/us-usa-tax-irs-criteria-idUSBRE94C03N20130513

[Bonobo]

1. So why are you joining in the other thread with the attack on Kucinich over this?

Standing up for principles is something I usually admire in you. As to whether or not Kucinich could get another job, my answer is that he has been boxed out of the Democratic party along with alot of us.

[cali]

3. I didn't attack him for what he said, and you know that.

I have consistently criticized him for signing on to Faux. I stand by that criticism- firmly.

[Bonobo]

4. I hear you and I also am no fan of that.

But in the greater scheme of things, I will still support him for his positions.

[MrSlayer]

2. Who heads up the IRS?

What would be the payoff for doing this?

General harassment isn't a good enough excuse.

[Scuba]

21. A Bushie.

"... the IRS commissioner in 2012, Douglas Shulman, was appointed by President George W. Bush."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/irs-admits-targeting-conservative-groups/story?id=19151646#.UY2Mb0qsp7

[BlueToTheBone]

27. lol

There goes that argument.

[Katashi_itto]

5. I no longer see how we can win when our own go after our side time and again

U.S. Tax Authority Apologizes for Singling Out Anti-Tax Groups

May 12, 2013


Washington (dpa) - The Internal Revenue Service admitted Friday that it treated some groups associated with the anti-tax Tea Party with additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status as nonprofit organizations.

The US tax authority said it singled out conservative groups with "tea party" or "patriot" in their names during the 2012 presidential election campaign season.

Lois Lerner, director of tax exempt organizations for the IRS, said career employees of the agency subjected the groups to further examination based solely on their names.

"They didn't do it correctly," Lerner said Friday in Washington, according to Bloomberg news. "We would like to apologize for that."

The agency, however, said its actions weren't politically motivated.

The Tea Party is a conservative political movement that advocates reducing government spending and taxes. Its name is derived from the Boston Tea Party of 1773, a protest against British tax policies.

"Tea Party groups complained last year that they were required to provide an inordinate amount of information when they applied for tax-exempt status."

IRS problem was they poorly thought out their mission parameters

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/5/12/us_tax_authority_apologizes_for_singling.htm

[KittyWampus]

29. Aw, like black voters have to require an inordinate amount of info to JUST VOTE?

[Katashi_itto]

31. Like that makes any sense at all.

[KittyWampus]

39. From your post:"Tea Party groups complained last year that they were required to provide an inordina

"Tea Party groups complained last year that they were required to provide an inordinate amount of information when they applied for tax-exempt status."

[Katashi_itto]

40. And that relates to black voters how....?

Your attempt at an coherent analogy is really bad.

[KittyWampus]

41. You must not have been paying attention- Minority voters had new obstacles in registering to vote

in Republican controlled states for the last few election cycles.

They were "required to provide an inordinate amount of information" to register to vote.

And, in fact, many Republican not-for-profit organizations seeking tax exempt status had minority/Democratic voter suppression as their goal.

[Katashi_itto]

42. Nope I have been paying attention, you havent been keeping track of what going on with SCOTUS

as they shred the protections currently afforded minority voters.

Your problem is you tried to make some "witty" analogy and fell flat on your face.

[badtoworse]

35. Like what are you talking about?

[Marr]

36. How do you define "we"?

If you identify strictly with a political party, then sure-- you'll excuse something like this easily.

If you identify yourself primarily as a citizen, or a 99%er, you're going to stop and consider that, there but for the grace of an election, go I.

[FSogol]

6. Let's see, the IRS is in charge of collecting taxes and you think it is wrong for them to

take a closer look at anti-tax groups?



The only mistake is apologizing.

[RKP5637]

7. +1, n/t

[cali]

8. grab a frickin' clue: Even if that was all they'd done, it would be WRONG in a major way. duh

but if you'd bother to read what the report said, that's far from all they did.

Extreme partisanship is a sickness.

[Xipe Totec]

24. If facts are as the article states, then that's bad

And we should have no trouble going after the people who did it without mercy.

Correcting governmental abuse is consistent with liberal progressive Democratic values so there should be no conflict for Obama's administration in airing out this dirty laundry and cleaning it.

That is, IF the facts are as the article states.

[SoCalDem]

9. ALL tax-exempt/charity/foundations/etc should be looked at intensely

many a scoundrel uses these organizations to launder money, and we only find out about them accidentally when one of them commits a stupendous blunder..

Truthfully, after Citizens Untied (when many of these issues started). MOST of the groups that sprang up WERE right wingers, so of course they would be the preponderance of "cases" looked at closely.

[chimpymustgo]

10. YES! This whole argument is being shifted to say the IRS "targeted", rather than "scrutinized" for

tax-exempt status.

ALL the talking heads make it sound as though the IRS was auditing and persecuting these groups - not making sure they were organizations worthy of the tax exemption!

[marshall]

12. But they didn't look at all

And they didn't look at a random sample. That's the point. I suppose they don't have time or resources to do 100% all level scrutiny of every group.

[kelliekat44]

13. I agree. the mistake is apologizing and I believe the apology was done on purpose just to give

fodder to the RW and FOX. Each day, people applying for all kinds of government benefits are asked for more proof and more paper work to be filled out and filed. It's the job of public employees (or it should be) to protect the government from unlawful acts like fraud and mismanagement. I am really angry that the administration has not strongly responded with this argument. The GOP are supposed to be against government waste and unnecessary spending except when the IRS or other agencies scruitinize their supporters.

[Nye Bevan]

15. Would you be OK with the DEA targeting pro-legalization groups? (nt)

[Chan790]

20. The DEA does target pro-legalization groups...

with nary an apology.

The FBI frequently infiltrates even the most benign and activism-apathetic veg*n groups and even pot-luck clubs in its failing search to root out and identify an organizational structure, recruitment techniques and recruiters for ELF/ALF...with no thought to the notion they're basically profiling large swatches of the public for personal-ethics choices.

Bush-era federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies routinely infiltrated mosques and Arab-American organizations with undercover agents whose jobs were to express discontentment and anger with America to attempt to get recruited and (fake) radicalized for Al Qaeda and anti-American terror plots.

I don't approve of any of it but I'm not sticking my head in the sand over it occurring either. The Brits are far more aggressive and far less apologetic about it than we are.

[FSogol]

25. Would I be ok with the FBI looking for the guys on the Most Wanted List?

[Hoyt]

11. If one wanted to identify organizations that do not meet the requirements for tax exemption,

what better place to start than any organization with TParty (or similar) in their name, or right wing BS in their actions. Those organizations have exploded in recent years, and they should be examined closely to ensure they are not violating the restrictions on political activity. I guess it's a kind of "profiling," but it is not necessarily bad in this context.

These organizations could still operate as a non-exempt organization, but why should they get the benefits of tax exemption to promote their crud?

[djean111]

16. That's what I am thinking. Thank you.

Why should the IRS waste time and money scrutinizing random samples? Why shouldn't the IRS investigate entities formed for the sole purpose of not paying taxes (IMO)?
The apology should not have been made.
What a weak-willed "government" we have - giving in to the tea party and Wall Street, and apologizing if those entities are even looked at sideways, much less seeing if they break the law.

[Tom Ripley]

23. Yes, it's the same reason that law enforcement looks at NAMBLA a wee bit harder than other groups...

when investigating child exploitation.

[KharmaTrain]

14. More Info Needed Here...

As usual...on the surface this story sounds like a political vendetta until all the facts come forth. There's no defense in the IRS targeting and if it was ordered for political purposes...to hurt a political enemy...then it needs to be investigated and those who ordered the targeting should be brought forward and prosecuted if laws were violated.

That said...we live in uncharted times...the post Citizens United era where the lines between political "non-profits", candidates and big money donors are extremely blurred. Look at all the money that flew around...especially from high flying GOTB donors like Adelson...throwing big sums of cash around that easily could have fallen through cracks. Shouldn't those abuses be exposed and investigated as well? We're learning about how Bachmann's "campaign" violated all sorts of campaign finance laws...shouldn't that campaign and those who donated be looked at if there were tax code violations? The teabagger groups also had financial connections to big money donors and corporates...billions of dollars in all being thrown around out there...and none of this money should be scrutinized?

The more I hear this story the more I see it as a pre-emptive strike of the investigation of the big money donors who have had a profound and negative effect on the campaign process...

[KoKo]

37. Agree about it possibly being a "pre-emptive strike" of further investigation

of the big money donors. And, even we Dems were forced into competing...so there's some exposure there for 2012. But, nothing like what's been funneled into the GOP.

I was sorry that Obama came out so strongly against it...because that would make IRS and employees feel they might need to back off serious investigations if political entities are involved. But, I guess if he hadn't spoken out so strongly against political targeting by IRS..that the RW would have kept hammering the way they are doing with Benghazi.

More will probably be coming out about this, hopefully. And, in a way that shows that Obama had nothing to do with it. There are reports that Mitch McConnell had problems with some of the TeaBaggers who were running because they were unelectable so maybe he sicked the Bush appointed IRS Head onto them. If true...that could be the scandal the Repugs are in a tizzy about, also.

[KharmaTrain]

38. A Very Good Point...

...the rushpublicans don't gin up "scandals" unless they can manage it. I wouldn't put it past either Turtleman...or more likely, Cornyn (who was running the RSCC) who would have wanted to see the teabaggers shut down last year. For some of the "pros" like Rover, the teabaggers have now become a threat to their powerbase and a competition for the big bucks. As they say..."no honor among thieves".

Obama's forced into a strong denial as this story was "mysteriously" released on Friday and was allowed to percolate all weekend. By this morning the poutrage was dominating the chattering class. It's a no-win game as if he attempts to defend the IRS, he gets lambasted for being "complicit" and adds gasoline to this latest shitstorm.

Let's see if we can get an honest and independent investigation. My bets are the truth will come out around what the partisans want out there. The fact this involves the IRS, it hits a massive third rail with the far right...almost as electric as going after the NRA...

[ProSense]

17. No,

"Let's be honest: If a republican administration had done this, DU would be screaming about it. "

..."let's be honest": Some people are trying to fan the flames. I posted this recently:

This should be investigated. I'm glad these wingnuts rejected the apology. I can't wait to find out more about their activities.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Pledges Investigation Into IRS

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is pledging to dig into IRS practices after the agency revealed that employeers in a Cincinatti, Ohio office had inappropriately targeted conservative non-profits for additional review.

“My subcommittee has been investigating the IRS’s failure to enforce the law requiring that tax-exempt 501(c)4s be engaged exclusively in social welfare activities, not partisan politics," Levin said in a statement on Friday. "Today’s announcement by the IRS raises a second issue: whether the IRS, to the extent it has enforced its rules, has been impartial in doing so. Both issues require investigation.”

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/sen-carl-levin-d-mi-pledges-investigation-into

"The IRS, as you know, is an independent enforcement agency, with only two political appointees. The fact of the matter is what we know about this is of concern, and we certainly find the actions taken as reported to be inappropriate, and we would fully expect the investigation to be thorough and for corrections to be made," Carney said.

Carney pointed out that the IRS commissioner in 2012, Douglas Shulman, was appointed by President George W. Bush. Asked when the White House became aware of the extra reviews, Carney referred questions to the IRS.

Douglas H. Shulman (born 1967) was the U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. His nomination was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate on March 14, 2008[1] and he was sworn in on March 24, 2008.[2] He formerly served as vice chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (successor to NASD) and sat on the board at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).[3]

<...>

On November 11, 2012, Shulman finished his term as Commissioner.[7][8][9]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Shulman

Posted in this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022827070
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022827070#post3
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022827070#post6

[geek tragedy]

18. No Obama political appointees at the IRS , btw.

Should be investigated, but not a partisan abuse of power.

[JaneyVee]

19. The truth is that every year the IRS targets certain groups because they can't target them all.

Why not start with anti-tax groups. Seems like a no-brainer. Meanwhile, this is old news: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/irs-investigation-karl-rove-crossroads

[KansDem]

26. Makes sense...

Why not start with anti-tax groups.

Probably why it's ignored by Repubs and their media minions...

[greatlaurel]

22. Talking Points Memo has a good short article about this non-scandal.

This is another non-scandal being hyped by the right wing. Here ishttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/05/key_points.php?ref=fpblg a link to the TPM article.

[ellenfl]

28. why shouldn't the raison d'etre of an entity be a disqualifier for tax exemption?

did the tp claim they were non-political? don't think so. why should they be tax exempt? besides, doesn't a tax free ride go against their principals and make them moochers?

[Enrique]

30. DU might be screaming about it if it was the GOP

it doesn't mean the screams would have been justified.

[Blue_Tires]

32. "If a republican administration had done this, DU would be screaming about it..."

1. Still doesn't mean the teabaggers aren't riding a tidal wave of dirty money...I'm more interested in knowing what the IRS was close to finding out than anything else..

2. The mere reality that this is exactly the type of thing a republican administration WOULD and HAS done, is the very reason why I have no problem with it...

[sadbear]

33. Isn't the IRS independent of the administration?

And from what I've gathered, they acted alone.

[madokie]

34. Douglas Shulman, the head of the IRS at the time was a bush43 plant

and this should not be expounded on without that fact put forth in the OP. As it is its fanning the flames and nothing more, less than an honest argument. IMO
He resigned on Nov 09 2012 shortly after the election best I remember

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Shulman