IRS Targeted Progressive Groups, Too, Documents Reveal
Sam Stein
Posted: 06/24/2013 6:24 pm EDT
Updated: 06/24/2013 6:24 pm EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service targeted progressive groups applying for tax-exempt status in addition to conservative ones, according to IRS documents released by congressional Democrats on Monday.
The documents and an internal IRS report being sent to congressional committees reveal that the tax agency used terms that included "progressive" and "occupy" to flag progressive organizations for extra scrutiny before the 2012 elections.
The revelations greatly complicate the political scandal that has engulfed the IRS over the past few weeks. An inspector general report in mid-May revealed the tax agency had screened conservative groups with words like "tea party" in their name when considering applications for tax-exempt status. Lawmakers from both parties quickly denounced the creation of such "Be On The Lookout," or BOLO, lists. Republicans in particular argued the finding proved the IRS was trying to tip the scales of the election during the heat of the campaign.
Now it appears the agency's BOLOs were applied to organizations across the ideological spectrum. The IRS also screened groups advocating on behalf of Israeli settlements who were applying for non-profit 501c4 status -- a criterion that may on its own prove politically toxic.
A request for comment from the IRS was not immediately returned. The news of the progressive BOLO was first reported by The Associated Press.
John Shafer, manager of the tax-exempt division in the IRS Cincinnati office had told congressional investigators that BOLOs were applied not for purposes of punishing conservative groups, but to ensure that similar organizations were being categorized and screened by the same group of IRS officials. The concern, he said, was that two different tea party groups would get two different decisions on non-profit status. So, the Cincinnati office developed filters to make sure that everything was categorized as cleanly as possible, he said.
Democratic staffers on the House Ways and Means Committee released a copy of a BOLO list Monday that showed the word "progressive" was one of those a filters.
"Common thread is the word 'progressive,'" the document reads. "Activities appear to lean toward a new political party. Activities are partisan and appear as anti-Republican. You see references to "blue" as being 'progressive.'"
The document released by House Democrats shows that the IRS was grappling with a wave of difficult-to-define organizations looking for tax-exempt status. The BOLO document notes that 176 applicants for 501c4 status had used the same address in their applications.
Under a section titled "Watch List," the agency put "health care legislation" as an "issue name," advising that new applicants were subject to secondary screening. The IRS also listed "medical marijuana" as an issue name to watch, as well as "occupied territory advocacy."
"Applications deal with disputed territories in the Middle East," the document reads. "Applications may be inflammatory, advocate a one sided point of view and promotional materials may signify propaganda."
Since the scandal surrounding the IRS' targeting of tea party groups, several liberal organizations, including Progress Texas, had said that they too received additional scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status.
The emergence of a BOLO list substantiating those claims had Democrats demanding further explanation. The ranking member of the House Way and Means Committee, Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich), wrote a letter to Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George on Monday asking why he had omitted information about the IRS's broader BOLO scheme when he released the findings of his audit report about tea party targeting by the tax agency on May 14.
“The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way,” Levin said.
Danny Werfel, the principal deputy commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, acknowledged Monday that other BOLOs besides tea party had existed and were operational until recently. He informed reporters that he had since ended the BOLO practice.
The main question for many Democrats, however, is why no one at the IRS revealed that progressive groups were screened in addition to tea party organizations.
Sam Stein
Posted: 06/24/2013 6:24 pm EDT
Updated: 06/24/2013 6:24 pm EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service targeted progressive groups applying for tax-exempt status in addition to conservative ones, according to IRS documents released by congressional Democrats on Monday.
The documents and an internal IRS report being sent to congressional committees reveal that the tax agency used terms that included "progressive" and "occupy" to flag progressive organizations for extra scrutiny before the 2012 elections.
The revelations greatly complicate the political scandal that has engulfed the IRS over the past few weeks. An inspector general report in mid-May revealed the tax agency had screened conservative groups with words like "tea party" in their name when considering applications for tax-exempt status. Lawmakers from both parties quickly denounced the creation of such "Be On The Lookout," or BOLO, lists. Republicans in particular argued the finding proved the IRS was trying to tip the scales of the election during the heat of the campaign.
Now it appears the agency's BOLOs were applied to organizations across the ideological spectrum. The IRS also screened groups advocating on behalf of Israeli settlements who were applying for non-profit 501c4 status -- a criterion that may on its own prove politically toxic.
A request for comment from the IRS was not immediately returned. The news of the progressive BOLO was first reported by The Associated Press.
John Shafer, manager of the tax-exempt division in the IRS Cincinnati office had told congressional investigators that BOLOs were applied not for purposes of punishing conservative groups, but to ensure that similar organizations were being categorized and screened by the same group of IRS officials. The concern, he said, was that two different tea party groups would get two different decisions on non-profit status. So, the Cincinnati office developed filters to make sure that everything was categorized as cleanly as possible, he said.
Democratic staffers on the House Ways and Means Committee released a copy of a BOLO list Monday that showed the word "progressive" was one of those a filters.
"Common thread is the word 'progressive,'" the document reads. "Activities appear to lean toward a new political party. Activities are partisan and appear as anti-Republican. You see references to "blue" as being 'progressive.'"
The document released by House Democrats shows that the IRS was grappling with a wave of difficult-to-define organizations looking for tax-exempt status. The BOLO document notes that 176 applicants for 501c4 status had used the same address in their applications.
Under a section titled "Watch List," the agency put "health care legislation" as an "issue name," advising that new applicants were subject to secondary screening. The IRS also listed "medical marijuana" as an issue name to watch, as well as "occupied territory advocacy."
"Applications deal with disputed territories in the Middle East," the document reads. "Applications may be inflammatory, advocate a one sided point of view and promotional materials may signify propaganda."
Since the scandal surrounding the IRS' targeting of tea party groups, several liberal organizations, including Progress Texas, had said that they too received additional scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status.
The emergence of a BOLO list substantiating those claims had Democrats demanding further explanation. The ranking member of the House Way and Means Committee, Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich), wrote a letter to Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George on Monday asking why he had omitted information about the IRS's broader BOLO scheme when he released the findings of his audit report about tea party targeting by the tax agency on May 14.
“The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way,” Levin said.
Danny Werfel, the principal deputy commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, acknowledged Monday that other BOLOs besides tea party had existed and were operational until recently. He informed reporters that he had since ended the BOLO practice.
The main question for many Democrats, however, is why no one at the IRS revealed that progressive groups were screened in addition to tea party organizations.