It has been six weeks since the IRS first revealed that they were purposefully targeting conservative-leaning organizations.   This week, additional IRS documents revealed that the term “progressive,” along with others, were also included on the “Be On the Lookout” list – or the BOLO.  I want to make one thing clear, no taxpayer, regardless of political affiliation,… Read more

Washington, DC – A new letter from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) provides the following facts showing “progressive” groups did not face the same targeting by the IRS that tea party groups did. In the letter, TIGTA concludes: In its audit, TIGTA “reviewed all cases the IRS identified as potential political cases and did… Read more

  Treasury IG: Liberal groups weren't targeted by IRS like Tea Party Liberal groups seeking tax-exempt status faced less IRS scrutiny than Tea Party groups, according to the Treasury inspector general. Russell George, Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration, told Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) in… Read more

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA) released the following statements in response to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) 30-day review of the practice of discriminating against applicants for tax-exempt status based on their personal beliefs. IRS Principal Deputy Commissioner Werfel will… Read more

   Tea Party Progressives  On a BOLO  Yes  Yes Had donors threatened  Yes  No evidence Had confidential information leaked … Read more

Despite nearly two years of denials, last month the IRS finally admitted the truth – three years ago the agency began systematically targeting individuals based on their political beliefs.  However, what the agency has yet to admit, and what we still need to find out, is just how widespread this activity was, who ordered it and why it began in the first place. Now, let’s… Read more

Throughout the investigation into the IRS targeting conservative groups, many misleading statements have been made asserting that the uptick of 501 (c)(4) applications caused the targeting, which began in March 2010.  However, the data and timeline below from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s report show that there was actually a decrease in applications in… Read more

In the days since the Internal Revenue Service first disclosed that it had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, new information has emerged from both the Treasury Inspector General’s report and congressional testimony Friday that calls into question key statements made by Lois G. Lerner, the IRS’s director of the exempt organizations… Read more

On May 10, 2013, Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) division that oversees tax-exempt groups, finally acknowledged that the agency had been targeting conservative-leaning political organizations.     Four days later, the Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration (TIGTA) confirmed that, “the IRS used inappropriate… Read more

March-April 2010 According to TIGTA, the IRS’s Determinations Unit “began searching for other requests for exemption involving the Tea Party, Patriots, 9/12 and IRC § 501(c)(4) applications involving political sounding names, e.g., “We the People” or “Take Back the Country.” June 3, 2011 Chairman Camp sends letter to Commissioner Shulman inquiring about IRS targeting of taxpayers who… Read more