The IRS Scandal, Day 974

Wall Street Journal editorial, An IRS Retreat on Charity: The Agency Pulls its Proposal to Sweep Up Small-Donor Records:

It’s not every day we can celebrate a less intrusive Internal Revenue Service. But charities and the people who support them will be happy to learn that the IRS has withdrawn its proposal to collect more donor information, including Social Security numbers.

In September the IRS and Treasury Department proposed to give charities the “option” of filing detailed reports on everyone who contributes more than $250 to a charity. The IRS was calling it “voluntary,” which in government means the agency hasn’t gotten around to requiring it yet. We reported on the legitimate fear that new reporting would be required of every nonprofit—including the conservative organizations that the IRS helped muzzle in the 2012 presidential election. [More here, here, here, and here.]

Amazingly enough, in this case the IRS appears to have listened to concerns from the taxpayers who pay their salaries. On Thursday the IRS said it is withdrawing its proposal after receiving “a substantial number of public comments.” Many of the comments “questioned the need for donee reporting, and many comments expressed significant concerns about donee organizations collecting and maintaining taxpayer identification numbers for purposes of the specific-use information return,” said the IRS. The legitimate anger of average citizens was amplified by stalwart IRS watchdogs like Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) on Capitol Hill.

One year after Republicans took control of the Congress, and one year before President Obama leaves the White House, the pendulum is beginning to swing against IRS abuse of taxpayers. Coming on the heels of other reforms in the year-end tax and spending bills—including a ban on new IRS rules limiting political activity—Thursday’s news is reason to cheer.

• Accounting Today, IRS Dumps Proposal to Ask Charities for SSNs of Donors
• American Center for Law and Justice, Major Victory Backing Down the IRS from a Disastrous Policy
• Chronicle of Philanthropy, IRS Reverses Course on Controversial Donor-Data Proposal
• Daily Signal, IRS Won’t Ask Nonprofits to Collect Social Security Numbers
• Forbes, IRS Drops Proposal To Collect Social Security Numbers From Charitable Donors
• Fox News, IRS Nixes Controversial Plan to Collect Social Security Numbers of Charity Donors
• The Hill, IRS Withdraws Controversial Rule After Charity Backlash

• The IRS Scandal, Day 973 (Jan. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 972 (Jan. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 971 (Jan. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 970 (Jan. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 969 (Jan. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 968 (Jan. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 967 (Jan. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 966 (Dec. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 965 (Dec. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 964 (Dec. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 963 (Dec. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 962 (Dec. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 961 (Dec. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 960 (Dec. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 959 (Dec. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 958 (Dec. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 957 (Dec. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 956 (Dec. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 955 (Dec. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 954 (Dec. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 953 (Dec. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 952 (Dec. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 951 (Dec. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 950 (Dec. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 949 (Dec. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 948 (Dec. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 947 (Dec. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 946 (Dec. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 945 (Dec. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 944 (Dec. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 943 (Dec. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 942 (Dec. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 941 (Dec. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 940 (Dec. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 939 (Dec. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 938 (Dec. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 937 (Dec. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 936 (Dec. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 935 (Nov. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 934 (Nov. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 933 (Nov. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 932 (Nov. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 931 (Nov. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 930 (Nov. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 929 (Nov. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 928 (Nov. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 927 (Nov. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 926 (Nov. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 925 (Nov. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 924 (Nov. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 923 (Nov. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 922 (Nov. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 921 (Nov. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 920 (Nov. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 919 (Nov. 14, 2015)
• 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)