IRS targeting intolerable
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June 12, 2013 |
By U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
The recently-revealed targeting of conservative
groups by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for
additional tax scrutiny is outrageous and goes
against the freedoms on which our nation was
founded. The federal government is supposed to
work for the American people and help strengthen
our nation, not tear down our freedoms from
within.
That is why we must do everything we can to hold
the IRS accountable for these inexcusable
attempts to silence political dissent, and
strong reforms must be implemented to ensure
that these actions do not ever happen again.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration’s (TIGTA) audit of the IRS Exempt
Organization Determinations office in
Cincinnati, Ohio, released its report on May 14,
2013. The audit showed the IRS was using terms
such as “tea party” and “liberty” to
discriminate against conservative groups for
further scrutiny on 501(c)(4) applications. At
subsequent stages of the IRS activities, groups
involved with “limiting government,” “educating
on the Constitution,” and “social economic
reform” were subject to similar treatment. Based
on the TIGTA report, these actions date back to
at least early 2010.
Congress has initiated several formal
investigations and oversight proceedings
regarding this matter. For example, the Senate
Finance Committee recently held a hearing with
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, TIGTA J.
Russell George and former IRS Commissioner
Douglas Shulman. During my questioning of the
officials, it was discovered the TIGTA will be
expanding the investigation to identify the
source of the targeting policy. Separately,
several congressional panels have launched
independent investigations into the matter. More
questions need to be answered, those involved
must be held accountable and this practice must
be eliminated.
Additionally, I, along with several of my
colleagues, wrote the President expressing our
grave concerns and deep disappointment about the
revelations in the TIGTA report. Our letter
highlights the danger posed by using government
resources to curb Constitutional liberties:
"We are deeply disturbed that agents of the
government were directed to give greater
scrutiny to groups engaged in conduct
questioning the actions of their government.
This type of purely political scrutiny being
conducted by an Executive Branch Agency is yet
another completely inexcusable attempt to chill
the speech of political opponents and those who
would question their government, consistent with
a broader pattern of intimidation by arms of the
administration to silence political dissent."
Congress must exercise thorough oversight of the
inappropriate actions taken by the IRS. More
answers are needed to fully realize the scope of
these troubling IRS activities.
Discrimination by government agents in any way
must not be tolerated.
The Inspector General made some recommendations
to address this issue. While I support the quick
implementation of the Inspector General’s
recommendations, I view them as simply the
beginning.
Additional, substantive reforms need to be
developed and implemented to ensure that future
income tax audits are not conducted in a
discriminatory manner. I will continue to press
for answers, accountability and actions to
ensure this intolerable practice does not
resurface. |
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