The IRS Scandal, Day 919

The Hill:  IRS Problems Extend Far Beyond its Commissioner, by Brandon Arnold (National Taxpayers Union):

Frustrations with the IRS have reached a boiling point, with a group of House Republicans now calling for the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. His ouster is probably well-deserved -- there is evidence to suggest that he misled Congress while under oath and may have broken other laws along the way.  While firing him might be prudent, the real problems with the IRS can’t be fixed by changing personnel. Congress can oust as many commissioners as it wants, but until the fundamental flaws at the increasingly roguish agency are fixed, individuals, families, businesses and non-profit groups will continue to be mistreated.

Consider for instance, the political targeting of groups categorized as non-profits under the Internal Revenue Code. It’s now clear that the IRS selectively harassed organizations for their ideological orientations, which were overwhelmingly conservative. This inconvenient fact effectively (and rightly) forced out Lois Lerner, the IRS honcho who presided over the mess. Lerner is gone, but has anything fundamentally changed at the agency that would prevent such actions in the future?

Sadly, no. After Lerner refused to testify before Congress on the matter, the Department of Justice opted to not pursue any charges against her. Now, it’s time for Congress to step in on behalf of all taxpayers – and there are plenty of things it can do.

One relatively low-hanging piece of legislative fruit would be passing H.R. 1104 -- a bill that would prevent the IRS from imposing gift taxes on contributions made to nonprofit groups. This has been a “sword of Damocles” that the IRS has been swinging over certain groups for years. Were the sword to fall, affected charitable groups would in essence be shuttered as few donors would be willing to pay taxes on contributions. Though much attention has been paid to the treatment of conservative groups under the current Obama administration, this threat imperils groups of all ideological viewpoints, which is why the bill easily passed the House with bipartisan support earlier this year. The Senate should act on it immediately. ...

All of this is not to say Congress shouldn’t necessarily impeach IRS Commissioner Koskinen. If he, in fact, broke the law he should be held accountable before the law. But the primary focus ought to be on fixing the numerous underlying problems at the IRS. The recent scandals present an opportunity to address some of these in a bipartisan fashion. It would be a shame if Congress was so distracted by Koskinen that it failed to do so.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 918 (Nov. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 917 (Nov. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 916 (Nov. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 915 (Nov. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 914 (Nov. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 913 (Nov. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 912 (Nov. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 911 (Nov. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 910 (Nov. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 909 (Nov. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 908 (Nov. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 907 (Nov. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 906 (Nov. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 905 (Oct. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 904 (Oct. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 903 (Oct. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 902 (Oct. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 901 (Oct. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 801-900 (July 19, 2015 - Oct. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 701-800 (April 10, 2015 - July 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
• 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)