Are you as tired as I am of hearing about the Republican witch hunt over the Internal Revenue Service? The IRS is not my favorite agency but it is certainly a necessary one. This whole “investigation,” which has gone on for over a year, is just another ploy to keep the press and the public focused on something other than the fact that Republican lawmakers are doing nothing but obstructing legislation that would be good for the country in their vendetta against President Barack Obama.
What you don’t hear when the outraged Republicans berate their witnesses is that the IRS was doing their job regarding “nonprofit” groups. The law states, in order to be considered a 501(c)(3) group (and, thus, tax-exempt), you must be a charitable organization. Furthermore, “it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.” None of the Tea Party groups that I have heard about fit that criterion. They spend millions campaigning for or against political candidates and attempting to influence legislation.
Why does the Tea Party feel that they should be held to a different standard? The same intense scrutiny is used on liberal 501(c)(3) applicants but the investigators would rather you didn’t know that.
Sandra Edmonson
Vancouver
