The political news has been dominated as of late by the ObamaCare follies. However, the IRS scandal continues to percolate. There has been some news this past week:
The National Organization for Marriage sued the IRS over the leak of its Form 990 Schedule B; that schedule contains NOM’s list of donors. That’s confidential under the law. Unfortunately, someone at the IRS leaked that Schedule B to its political opponent, the Human Rights Campaign. That in itself is a violation of federal law. It appears the House Ways and Means Committee has figured out who the villain is, and they would like to see the Department of Justice prosecute that individual. No word from the DOJ on this happening; given the politicized nature of the current DOJ, I doubt we’ll see this happen.
Meanwhile, it appears we know why Lois Lerner took the Fifth: The Washington Examiner accuses Ms. Lerner of sharing confidential tax information of several Tea Party groups with the Federal Elections Commission. That’s also a violation of the law. Though the Examiner is the accuser, it’s really Judicial Watch that’s making the accusation; that organization obtained emails under a Freedom of Information Act request that allegedly show Ms. Lerner emailed the confidential information. I’m sure the DOJ will get right on this (not).
For the IRS to function effectively, it needs both a reasonable budget and to be apolitical. It’s vital that the Department of Justice go after individuals who turn the IRS into a political organization from an apolitical one. Yet the current Administration apparently doesn’t see the urgency in this issue. That’s a huge mistake, and one that will definitely come back to haunt them and all Americans. We need a well functioning IRS…and given what the Administration is doing (and not doing), it’s very likely the budget for the IRS will continue to shrink.
Welcome Instapundit readers. I cover taxes with an emphasis on small businesses and gambling (my two tax practice specialty areas); I also focus on Nevada and Maryland (where our two offices are) and California (where I used to live and work). I try to have some fun with taxes as the subject is generally tedious.
