The IRS Scandal, Day 1427: 54 Applications For Tax-Exempt Status Were Rejected In 2016; One Conservative Group Has Been Waiting For An Answer Since 2009

Washington Free Beacon, IRS Denied Tax-Exempt Status to 37 Religious, Charitable Groups in 2016: One Group Has Been Waiting For Tax-Exempt Status For More Than Seven Years:

The Internal Revenue Service denied tax-exempt status to 37 religious, charitable, and educational organizations in 2016, according to recent data from the agency.

The IRS rejected a total of 54 applications for tax-exempt status in 2016. Groups applying for 501(c)3 status, which applies to non-profits whose mission is religious or charitable in nature, comprised 69 percent of denials.

Nearly 85,000 groups applied for 501(c)3 status in 2016. Of those applications, 79,545 were approved, 37 were denied, and 5,006 were not adjudicated. According to the IRS, the 5,006 applications that were not adjudicated in 2016 were either withdrawn by the organization, did not include required information, were incomplete, or were IRS correction disposals. ...

As early as 2010, the IRS began targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on their political ideology, delaying the applications of some Tea Party and conservative groups before the 2012 presidential election. To this day, some groups are still waiting for their tax-exempt status to be approved.

Attorney Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, represents 37 conservative and pro-life nonprofit organizations encountered opposition from the IRS in getting their tax-exempt status approved. One of these groups is still waiting for determination after filing for tax-exempt status in December 2009, which means it has been waiting for more than seven years. ...

Sekulow said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who has led the agency since 2013, needs to be replaced by someone who Congress and the American people can trust. "We've had a very firm position at the ACLJ, we believe that there needs to be total reform at the IRS, and the institution is incapable of self-correcting," Sekulow said. "That means people like Koskinen and a lot of the bureaucrats like Lois Lerner that run the [exempt organizations division] and the different departments within the IRS need to be changed."

Sekulow said Koskinen missed an opportunity to clean up the IRS and was too protective of the agency and its officials. Koskinen's term ends at the end of November 2017, though he said late last year he would resign at the request of President Donald Trump. Sekulow said added pressure from Congress to impeach the commissioner could encourage Trump to take him up on his offer. ...

"You shouldn't have to be afraid that the IRS will target you because of your political beliefs or your religious beliefs," he said. "So that's why we believe continued pressure from Congress, I think, President Trump would appreciate that because it would give him the momentum to make that decision and it would work in tandem. You would have Congress calling for it and the president taking action on it."

The IRS did not respond to requests for comment.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1426: Obama’s IRS Chief Who Dodged Impeachment Continues Under Trump (Apr. 3, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1424: Conservatives Demand IRS Commissioner’s Head In White House Meeting (Apr. 2, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1421: More On A Hidden Cause Of The IRS Scandal (Mar. 30, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1420: A Hidden Cause (Mar. 29, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1417: Satan, Tea Parties, and the IRS (Mar. 26, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1416: The Root Problem Is The Law, Not The IRS (Mar. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1415: ‘Media Attention’ And IRS Abuse (Mar. 24, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1411: Why Did Donald Trump Fire Sally Yates And Preet Bharara, But Not John Koskinen? (Mar. 20, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1410: Judicial Watch Forces Disclosure Of New Documents (Mar. 19, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1409: 'After School Satan Club' Granted Tax-Exempt Status In 10 Days While Conservative Groups Waited Years (Mar. 18, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1408: Why Won't The Media Cover It? (Mar. 17, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1407: NY Post Editorial, Fire The IRS Chief Already, Mr. President (Mar. 16, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1404: Attorney General Sessions Weighs Appointing Special Counsel To Investigate Obama's Justice Department Scandals (Mar. 13, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1403: Should Koskinen Remain, Resign, Or Be Fired? (Mar. 12, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1402: IRS Locates 7,000 Documents Related To Tea Party Targeting (Mar. 11, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1377: Republicans Still Want IRS Chief's Head (Feb. 14, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1367: White House Mum On Fate Of IRS Boss Koskinen (Feb. 4, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1365: 55 GOP Members Of Congress Ask Trump To Fire Koskinen (Feb. 2, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1363: The Final Chapter On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 31, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1360: VP Pence, GOP House And Senate Push Trump To Fire Koskinen (Jan. 28, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1358: More Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 26, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1356: Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 24, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1353: Will The Trump IRS End, Or Embrace, Targeting Of Disfavored Groups? (Jan. 21, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1352: The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 20, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1351: Two Federal Judges Order Five Officials To Preserve Emails Sought In FOIA Lawsuits; Judicial Watch Fears Another Lois Lerner Situation As Obama Administration Leaves Power (Jan. 19, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1350: Even Trump Adviser Buys Myth Of 'Scandal-Free Administration,' Despite IRS, Five Other Scandals (Jan. 18, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1349: Peggy Noonan On The Obama Presidency And The IRS Scandal (Jan. 17, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1348: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse Of Political Groups (Jan. 16, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1347: IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins Resigns, Effective Jan. 20; GOP Questioned His Role In Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 15, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1346: The Trump Dossier, The Left, And Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 14, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1345: Donald Trump, The Intelligence Community, And Lois Lerner (Jan. 13, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1344: Democrats Remind Jeff Sessions AG Enforces 'Every Law,' Yet Were Silent When DOJ Declined To Prosecute Lois Lerner (Jan. 12, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1343: IRS Let Lois Lerner Off The Hook By Paying $12 Million For Email Backup System It Did Not Use (Jan. 11, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1342: New Chair of House Oversight Committee Pledges To Increase IRS Accountability (Jan. 10, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1341: Another View Of The Republicans' Reactivation Of The Holman Rule And Lois Lerner (Jan. 9, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1340: Tax Professors Discuss The Future Of Tax Administration And Enforcement After 'What The Media Often Refer To As The 'IRS Targeting Scandal'' (Jan. 8, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1339: House GOP Reactivates 'Holman Rule,' Would Have Permitted Reducing Lois Lerner's Pay To $1 (Jan. 7, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1338: Commissioner Koskinen Says Trump Transition Team Has No 'Axes To Grind' Against IRS (Jan. 6, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1337: The IRS Is The Third Biggest 'Tax Offender Of 2016' (Jan. 5, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1336: Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States (Jan. 4, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1335: Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(c)(4) Organizations (Jan. 3, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1334: The IRS’s Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations (Jan. 2, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1333: Republicans Weasel Out Of Impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Jan. 1, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1332: The House GOP's Ridiculous Impeachment Crusade (Dec. 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1331: Rep. Jim Jordan Offers Resolution To Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Dec. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1330: House Republicans And Democrats Forge Rare Bipartisan Agreement To Block Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1329: Did The IRS's Targeting Of Conservative Groups Lead It To Grant Tax-Exempt Status To 'Hate Groups'? (Dec. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1328: House's Referral Back To Judiciary Committee Is Likely To Kill Koskinen Impeachment (Dec. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1327: Delay In Koskinen Impeachment Is Discordant Note In Kumbaya Between Trump And GOP Congress (Dec. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1326: Only 72 House Republicans Voted Against Delay In Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1325: House Impeachment Leader Grills Witness Over Giving Koskinen 'Excellence In Public Service' Award (Dec. 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1324: Ways & Means Committee Seeks Information From IRS About Continued Targeting Of Organizations Based On Political Beliefs — This Time, Pro-Israel Groups (Dec. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1323: Tea Party Group Decries IRS's 'Latest Bob And Weave To Avoid Accountability' (Dec. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1322: Government Denies That It Continues To Harass Tea Party Group (Dec. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1321: Maureen Dowd, Donald Trump, And The IRS Scandal (Dec. 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1320: How The GOP Establishment Teamed With Nancy Pelosi To Table Impeachment Vote On IRS Commissioner (Dec. 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1319: How Will The Koskinen Saga End? (Dec. 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1318: More On Koskinen And Trump (Dec. 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1317: Koskinen Says He Is Willing To Serve Another Term As IRS Commissioner If Trump Wants To Reappoint Him (Dec. 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1316: IRS Commissioner Koskinen Says Resignation Did Not Come Up In Meeting With Trump Transition Team (Dec. 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1315: Bureaucratic Bumbling Or Targeting Of Conservatives? (Dec. 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1314: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse of Political Groups (Dec. 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1313: The Koskinen-Trump Connection (Dec. 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1312: Impeachment Averted, But Will Koskinen Resign Or Be Fired By President Trump? (Dec. 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1311: The IRS 'Scandal' Was Part Of GOP's Strategy To Bog Down Obama Administration (Dec. 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1310: Rep. Jim Jordan Is 'Frustrated' By House Passing On IRS Chief Koskinen's Impeachment (Dec. 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1309: How Trump Got Yanked Into GOP's IRS Impeachment Fight (Dec. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1308: House Votes To Send Koskinen Impeachment Back To Judiciary Committee (Dec. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1307: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1306: Government Rejects Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1305: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1304: 'The IRS Has Never Stopped Targeting Conservatives' (Dec. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1303: Group Sues IRS For Failure To Produce Communications With Joint Committee on Taxation (Dec. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal,  Day 1302: The 'Corrupt' IRS Is Still Persecuting The Tea Party (Dec. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1301: If Koskinen Is Impeached Or Fired, Trump Could Appoint New IRS Commissioner To Go Easy On His Taxes (Nov. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1201-1300 (Aug. 22, 2016 - Nov. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1101-1200 (May 14, 2016 - Aug. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1001-1100 (Feb. 4, 2016 - May 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 901-1000 (Oct. 27, 2015 - Feb. 3, 2016)
• 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)