IRS supervisor in DC scrutinized tea party cases

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

WASHINGTON (AP) - An Internal Revenue Service supervisor in Washington says she was personally involved in scrutinizing some of the earliest applications from tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status, including some requests that languished for more than a year without action.

Holly Paz, who until recently was a top deputy in the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, told congressional investigators she reviewed 20 to 30 applications. Her assertion contradicts initial claims by the agency that a small group of agents working in an office in Cincinnati were solely responsible for mishandling the applications.

Paz, however, provided no evidence that senior IRS officials ordered agents to target conservative groups or that anyone in the Obama administration outside the IRS was involved.

Instead, Paz described an agency in which IRS supervisors in Washington worked closely with agents in the field but didn't fully understand what those agents were doing. Paz said agents in Cincinnati openly talked about handling "tea party" cases, but she thought the term was merely shorthand for all applications from groups that were politically active - conservative and liberal.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130616/DA6V3OGO1.html

[cheapdate]

1. "Mishandled" my ass.

the only "mishandling" was that 80% of these tea party application weren't thrown out.

[giftedgirl77]

2. The major issue with this whole situation

is these groups ever got approval in the first place & Crossroads GPS along with all the other Super PACs got theirs easily. Citizens United was by far one of the most crooked, dumbest rulings EVER.

[timdog44]

3. Firstly,

from what I understand these groups could form without scrutiny if they were not greedy and sought tax exempt status. And secondly, unless the title of their organization said "tea party" in it, how would you know it was a tea party application?

[former9thward]

4. The IRS said they were looking for words in the application or purpose.

Tea party was one of them. Constitution was another. BTW do you think any organization which seeks a non-profit status is "greedy"?

[timdog44]

5. I think when it comes to

political donations, whether they want to call them that or not, yes I think it is greedy to seek tax exempt status. I don't think any time a donation is made that a tax exemption should be given or be enabled. I don't take tax breaks for all the donations I make. Otherwise to me it is not a donation.

[former9thward]

8. You are misstating the law.

Donations to 501c4 groups are not tax deductible. The organization does not pay income taxes on donations received. For most of these type of groups they would not be paying tax anyway because their business expenses would match the donations. You may call them political but the IRS (and the law) does not. These groups are allowed to engage in political activity as long as that is not their primary activity.

[timdog44]

9. Then what does "tax exempt" mean?

And if that means not having to pay taxes, then evasion of paying taxes is taking place in some manner. Other wise try to be a 501c4?

[former9thward]

12. Not sure what you mean.

Tax exempt, for the purposes of these groups (501c4s), means they do not have to pay income taxes on donations they receive. The people donating the money do not get any tax deduction. In return the IRS does not require the organization to disclose who donates to them. With a 501c3 group the people donating do get a tax deduction and their names are required to be disclosed.

[timdog44]

13. You said I was misstating

the law. So there is some tax exemption going on. And the vetting to become a 501c4 is so that donors do not have to be named. That is total bullshit.

"501(c)(4) organizations are generally civic leagues and other corporations operated exclusively for the promotion of "social welfare", such as civics and civics issues, or local associations of employees with membership limited to a designated company or people in a particular municipality or neighborhood, and with net earnings devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes.[36] An organization is operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare if it is primarily engaged in promoting the common good and general welfare of the people of the community"

So these tax exempt organizations that don't haave to name their donors, they actually do the above? I think not.

[former9thward]

22. You are looking at the law with your political bias.

Which is natural. A conservative would look at a liberal/progressive 501c4 and say they were not "promoting the common good and general welfare of the people of the community". But the IRS can't look at organizations with a conservative or liberal bias. The courts won't allow it.

[timdog44]

23. I have not doubt

that that is what I am doing. But the IRS should have been vetting every application, and maybe they were, but I still want to see statistics on how many conservative groups were vetted against how many applied and how many were denied - and on how may liveral groups were vetted against how many applied and how many were denied.

And now the Karl Rove sponsored groups are using the word Progressive in the title of their groups. It all stinks. As far as I am concerned all these groups should be banned and either public financing should be taking place or strict limits on donations should be put in place. And if corporations are citizens, then say, Verizon could only donate $2000 just like I can donate $2000.

[former9thward]

24. The Wall Street Journal recently ran an editorial.

No tax exemption for anybody. I agree with that.

[timdog44]

25. I can agree with that.

I can also agree to no anonymity.

[truebrit71]

26. I'm sorry but that is their job: to vet applications to make sure they adhere to the law...

..

[timdog44]

11. The question I ask above

is a legitimate question. Please educate me.

[jmowreader]

14. Your last sentence is the whole problem here

Tea party groups' sole reason to exist is political activity.

[iamthebandfanman]

6. oh great.. Fox is already happy

and delighted to point out that this goes past the cincy office...

they are having their ahhh haa told u so moment

[John2]

7. I still don't

see anything wrong the IRS did, and I still don't see these groups as victims. I think they did a lousy job, because their process seem to let these groups off the hook. I don't care what anybody claims, You can't tell me none of those groups were not involved in Politics. I think people covering for these groups are being disingenious. It has already been pointed out the IRS wasn't following Federal laws anyway. The actual law was more strict, then the IRS was applying. That should be the end of it. So why are people still pushing this victim role?

[timdog44]

10. All groups applying for this "tax exempt"

status should be vetted. Period.

Another thing, since not all were being vetted, what percent of supposed right wing vs left wing groups were denied per application? Have we seen that anywhere? I have not.

[cheapdate]

17. The ONLY application denied by the Cincinatti office was a progressive group.

[timdog44]

18. That is what I thought.

All the rest of this hullablaloo is Republican plants trying to stir the pot.

[jmowreader]

15. Because they're trying to get rid of Obamacare through back-door methods

The Supreme Court angle didn't work. Neither did the 40 bills they wrote to repeal the law. Now they're portraying the IRS as an out-of-control entity that needs enough of its funding pulled that they can't enforce the Obamacare provisions they're charged with.

Why else would all-Republican panels of congressmen be conducting the tea party hearings?

[timdog44]

19. That is exactly what I thought

was going on, was to back door the cancellation of the Affordable Care Act. And the only republicans who don't bad mouth this are the ones who are benefiting already from the Affordable Care Act. When it hits home and they can get some $$$ for free they are for it. Like the aid to Oklahoma and not to the east coast Hurricane Sandy relief. Because a tornado is so different than a hurricane. The elected officials from Oklahoma are about as dense as those in Texas. My apologies to the good Texans and Oklahomans.

[kickysnana]

16. The IRS scrutinizes all such organizations and non-profits, it is their job to do so.

I know that they scrutinize the Mayo Clinic, the League of Women's Voters, Acorn, the MS Society and Oral Roberts University, Minnesota Genealogy Society, Palmer Dr Senior Association and Lyme Disease Coalition of Minnesota.

This is the silliest non-smear campaign ever.

[timdog44]

20. Nail on the head.

One crisis after the other to try to make the Obama administration look bad. About the only thing these Repuke reps do is run their mouths off about that which they know nothing. Actually I think they read this stuff off play cards sent to them from headquarters.

[marshall]

21. Interesting that the IRS thought Tea Party=any political group

Not just conservative, but also liberal. If that was the pervasive thought at IRS, and those folks are pretty isolated in their work, that would explain a lot.

[cynzke]

27. This isn't new.

IRS agents from Cincinnati testified they bumped up some of the applications to IRS DC for review.