The IRS Scandal, Day 654

The American Spectator, The Real ‘Dirty Dozen’ at the IRS: For Some Reason, It Fails to Include Itself on its List of Abusers, Scammers, and Cheats:

The IRS just released its “dirty dozen” list of tax scams and schemes for the American people to avoid. In addition to normal phishing and identity theft, a slew of new phone scams around the nation has caught many taxpayers off guard. Plus, unscrupulous return preparers take advantage of confused Americans, especially given that 60 percent of taxpayers need assistance figuring out all those documents, tables, and exemptions. The list also warns the less honest among us to avoid hiding money offshore, in abusive tax shelters, or with false documents. Additionally, it urges people not to falsify income or claim too much in fuel tax credits, either.

But there is an even more concerning “dirty dozen” list that the IRS wants the public to forget.

It’s been almost two years since the news broke that the IRS had been targeting Tea Party, pro-Israel, and other conservative groups — and a scandal erupted. Here are just a select few ways the IRS has mismanaged its problems and shown itself to be incompetent and untrustworthy:

1. Internal emails show these groups were targeted because IRS employees thought them “icky.”

2. Other emails showed that Lois Lerner was conspiring with the Department of Justice to prosecute conservative groups on trumped-up charges.

3. Lerner herself refused to testify to investigating committees and was held in contempt.

4. That didn’t stop her from defending herself to Politico magazine and complaining about being “harassed” for her role.

5. Then, the IRS claimed it had lost the most crucial batch of Lerner’s emails.

6. Oh yeah, and her Blackberry was destroyed too.

7. Six months later, the Tax Inspector General may have found those lost emails. (Still no word yet on what was in them.)

Scandal events aside, the IRS showed its general incompetence in many other ways.

8. IRS workers campaigned for political candidates while on the job.

9. The agency awarded bonuses to its own employees who owed taxes.

10. Guess who was audited ten times more often than the average taxpayer? Supporters of the Tea Party.

11. The IRS illegally shared confidential, protected information with the FBI, the White House, and more.

12. And it has the nerve to constantly ask for a raise.

It all adds up to an agency that doesn’t merit the trust of taxpayers.

For at least three years, the IRS has egregiously wronged this nation — including at least one person on a director level. Yet, it still hasn’t apologized or come clean.

But despite all the excuses and diversions offered by the IRS, the American people are still saying what Senator Ron Johnson expressed: “I smell a rat. I smell a number of rats, and that’s what we are going to get to the bottom of.”

• The IRS Scandal, Day 653 (Feb. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 652 (Feb. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 651 (Feb. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 650 (Feb. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 649 (Feb. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 648 (Feb. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 647 (Feb. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 646 (Feb. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 645 (Feb. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 644 (Feb. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 643 (Feb. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 642 (Feb. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 641 (Feb. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 640 (Feb. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 639 (Feb. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 638 (Feb. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 637 (Feb. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 636 (Feb. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 635 (Feb. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 634 (Feb. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 633 (Feb. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 632 (Jan. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 631 (Jan. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 630 (Jan. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 629 (Jan. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 628 (Jan. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 627 (Jan. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 626 (Jan. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 625 (Jan. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 624 (Jan. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 623 (Jan. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 622 (Jan. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 621 (Jan. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 620 (Jan. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 619 (Jan. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 618 (Jan. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 617 (Jan. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 616 (Jan. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 615 (Jan. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 614 (Jan. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 613 (Jan. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 612 (Jan. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 611 (Jan. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 610 (Jan. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 609 (Jan. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 608 (Jan. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 607 (Jan. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 606 (Jan. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 605 (Jan. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 604 (Jan. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 603 (Jan. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 602 (Jan. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 601 (Dec. 31, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)