Many believe the teaparty movement is on the verge of a serious set-back with the evolution of the present GOP primary season. The coming election will determine the future of the GOP as a conservative party. I believe that the proven resilience of the conservative movement within the GOP may win the day . . . . . against all odds. Time will tell, of course; hopefully, time is on our side.
_______________________________
From Americans for Tax Reform: Lois Lerner’s political beliefs led to tea party and conservative groups receiving disparate and unfair treatment when applying for non-profit status, according to a detailed report compiled by the Senate Finance Committee.
Because of Lerner’s bias, only one conservative political advocacy organization was granted tax exempt status over a period of more than three years:
“Due to the circuitous process implemented
by Lerner, only one conservative political advocacy organization was
granted tax-exempt status between February 2009 and May 2012. Lerner’s
bias against these applicants unquestionably led to these delays, and is
particularly evident when compared to the IRS’s treatment of other
applications, discussed immediately below.”
This “rigid and unorthodox process” meant that over the three year period, tea party and conservative groups waited a total of 621 years for the IRS to make a decision about their applications for tax-exempt status. As the report notes, many of these applications could have been decided far earlier, but were not due to decisions by Lerner. As the report notes:
“The unfortunate consequence of imposing this
highly rigid and unorthodox process on EO Determinations was that many
Tea Party applications that could have been decided in 2010 were not.
Rather, those Tea Party applications unnecessarily languished for
several more years, while the IRS mismanaged its way through a series of
failed initiatives designed to bring the applications to decision.”
In contrast, progressive or non-affiliated applicants faced a timely
review process. Indeed, the IRS was willing and able to quickly approve
high profile non-tea party applicants:
“Although applications from the Tea Party and
conservative organizations languished at the IRS, this was not the case
for all groups that applied. In cases where the IRS wanted to act
quickly, it did – particularly for other high-profile applications that
attracted political attention.”
As the Finance Committee concludes, the process by which EO approved
applications for tax-exempt status was clearly based on how closely an
organization aligned with Lerner’s liberal views:
“The IRS’s treatment of these organizations
was almost universally consistent with Lerner’s personal political
views – this is, supporting Democratic candidates and opposing
conservative tax-exempt organizations that engaged in political speech.
Conservative organizations that sought to participate in the nation’s
political discourse, such as the Tea Party, drew the strongest ire from
Lerner.”
See Also:Senate Report: Lois Lerner’s Political Views Resulted in Disparate Treatment of Conservative Groups
IRS “Midnight Unit” Destroyed Backup Tapes With Lois Lerner Emails
The Curious Case of Lois Lerner's Physically Damaged Hard Drive
IRS Failed to Search Five of Six Locations for Lois Lerner Emails
IRS Used Instant Messaging System to Hide Internal Communications
House Oversight Committee Details Case for Removal of IRS Commissioner
Watchdog: IRS May Still Be Targeting Conservative Non-Profits
No comments:
Post a Comment