IRS Approved Tax-Exempt Status for Twice as Many Conservative Groups as Liberal Groups (statistics, economic)
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They should be looking at the code and fixing the problem not sitting around wasteing time on false issues.
False issue? A government agency,the IRS no less , going after a political group is a false issue?
This is huge and we're only at the tip of the iceberg. These Congressional committees are going to work their way down to the "rogue employees" and then start working there way back up. That's when the fireworks start.
No I dont see that. This is an issue both right and left agree on, but the House Repub. do not have any idea on how to fix the problem and choose talking points over action.
You have a very large potential that criminal activity has occurred here, that is not something that can be ignored.
False issue? A government agency,the IRS no less , going after a political group is a false issue?
This is huge and we're only at the tip of the iceberg. These Congressional committees are going to work their way down to the "rogue employees" and then start working there way back up. That's when the fireworks start.
Yup dont fix it use the talking points. I was right.
If you can agree to that then you have to agree the IRS unfairly targeted Conservative groups.
The IRS IG testified that his preliminary investigation of the matter, the report which was released and about which he testified, revealed no unfair targeting of any of the applicants. Those are the "facts" at this moment, best I can recollect. In due course we will learn a lot more about this and the facts may change. I think you fail to understand the requirements organizations asking for very special tax treatment, and for the right to extend those tax benefits to their anonymous donors, must satisfy. In the instances of these politically-affiliated groups, right, left or middle ground ... what they seek is a form of tax shelter for political activists. That's my view.
The original poster needs a stats class: This doesn't tell us anything definitive about the entire set of groups that got special scrutiny. If the whole set is similar to the approved set, then about two-thirds were conservative and one-third liberal—most likely because of the boom in new tea party groups in 2010. But that's just a guess.
Twice as many may have been approved but if a thousand times more applied this thread is a fraud.
It's Mother Jones...the left's equivalent to Alex Jones Infowars, except it's less reliable.
A "witch hunt"? Time will tell. I suspect when the dust settles ... we'll know that no group, "conservative" or "liberal" was unfairly singled-out.
But of course we don't expect to see any reduction in the right-wing chest-beating claiming that the administration has the IRS favoring liberal groups. After all: They cannot raise their reelection war-chests if they didn't deceive their supporters into believing their propaganda, and for the right-wing, all that matters is getting elected and reelected, so that they can defend reactionary, bigoted, and greedy perspectives.
Want to see the right-wing go really ballistic? Suggest that the best way of ensuring that no group gets shortchanged in their dealings with the IRS is to simply do away with all tax exemptions for political groups. That'll make some of those Members of Congress squeal like a pig, but at the same time that'll make it so clear that it is the right-wing that is benefiting from tax exemptions far in excess of left-wing groups.
Since you seem to know, why not share that information with the rest of us? Otherwise, just wait for the investigation to continue and the results to be made public. There will be time enough for praise or criticism ... when the truth of the matter is known. Though, for many people, truth and facts aren't important. Attacking is the order of the day.
according to this guy, the IRS stalled him, and then he changed his groups name and got almost instant approval:
Eight months passed without word from the agency about the group's application, Ryun said.
When September 2012 arrived with still no word from the IRS, Ryun determined that Media Trackers would likely never obtain standalone nonprofit status, and he tried a new approach: He applied for permanent nonprofit status for a separate group called Greenhouse Solutions, a pre-existing organization that was reaching the end of its determination period. The IRS approved Greenhouse Solutions' request for permanent nonprofit status in three weeks.
Reality is that the IRS admitted they screwed up not once but twice in their targeting conservative groups.
Reality is that the blame by high level officials were placed on the workers while they claimed ignorance of what was going on.
No, the reality is that the IRS admitted to targeting conservatives groups, true, but there has been an investigation, a report was released on May 14th.
This the IG's summary of their report
Highlights
Highlights of Report Number: 2013-10-053 to the Internal Revenue Service Acting Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division.
IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS
Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status to review for indications of significant political campaign intervention. Although the IRS has taken some action, it will need to do more so that the public has reasonable assurance that applications are processed without unreasonable delay in a fair and impartial manner in the future.
WHY TIGTA DID THE AUDIT
TIGTA initiated this audit based on concerns expressed by members of Congress. The overall objective of this audit was to determine whether allegations were founded that the IRS: 1) targeted specific groups applying for tax-exempt status, 2) delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications, and 3) requested unnecessary information from targeted groups.
WHAT TIGTA FOUND
The IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention.
Ineffective management:
1) allowed inappropriate criteria to be developed and stay in place for more than 18 months, 2) resulted in substantial delays in processing certain applications, and 3) allowed unnecessary information requests to be issued.
Although the processing of some applications with potential significant political campaign intervention was started soon after receipt, no work was completed on the majority of these applications for 13 months. This was due to delays in receiving assistance from the Exempt Organizations function Headquarters office.
For the 296 total political campaign intervention applications TIGTA reviewed as of December 17, 2012, 108 had been approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been denied, and 160 were open from 206 to 1,138 calendar days (some for more than three years and crossing two election cycles).
More than 20 months after the initial case was identified, processing the cases began in earnest. Many organizations received requests for additional information from the IRS that included unnecessary, burdensome questions (e.g., lists of past and future donors). The IRS later informed some organizations that they did not need to provide the information that was previously requested. IRS officials stated that any donor information received in response to a request from its Determinations Unit was later destroyed.
WHAT TIGTA RECOMMENDED
TIGTA recommended that the IRS finalize the interim actions taken, better document the reasons why applications potentially involving political campaign intervention are chosen for review, develop a process to track requests for assistance, develop and publish guidance, develop and provide training to employees before each election cycle, expeditiously resolve remaining political campaign intervention cases (some of which have been in process for three years), and request that social welfare activity guidance be developed by the Department of the Treasury.
In their response to the report, IRS officials agreed with seven of our nine recommendations and proposed alternative corrective actions for two of our recommendations. TIGTA does not agree that the alternative corrective actions will accomplish the intent of the recommendations and continues to believe that the IRS should better document the reasons why applications potentially involving political campaign intervention are chosen for review and develop and publish guidance.
Did they ask for personal information of your contacts? Transcripts of your meetings? If you prayed during meetings?
You know, things irrelevant but intrusive if you were on a partisan witch hunt?
Or demand you sign a statement promising that your group will never protest against Planned Parenthood? Or to describe in detail which laws your group has violated, without any reason to suspect they have ever done such a thing.
Leader of the San Fernando Valley Patriots Karen Kenney said. "My personal favorite was question No. 33, which in relation to protests asked for a listing of our “committed violations of local ordinances, breaches of public order or arrests” then requested details on how we “conduct or promote” illegal activities. I think the IRS needs to fix its labeling machine: We’re the San Fernando Valley Patriots, not Occupy Oakland."
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