Now, when an international journalist consortium has taken the lid off one percenter tax havens to the tune of 31 trillion dollars and the governments of the world yawn in response the one percenters may have decided to politically neuter the US tax authorities ability to ever go after this money, on the notion that maybe the sleeping giant will finally wake up. After all the Lucky Ducky 47 percent (the bulk of the Democratic Party's electoral base) don't worry about the IRS.
List of Internal Revenue Service political profiling controversies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In cases of political profiling at the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been used as a tool to attack political rivals and perceived enemies of the U.S. Executive branch.[1][2]
Historically, this kind of IRS abuse has tended to evade congressional oversight.
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1930s [edit]
Use of the IRS for political targeting has been documented as far-back as the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
- “My father,” Elliott Roosevelt observed of his famous parent, “may have been the originator of the concept of employing the IRS as a weapon of political retribution.”[3]
FDR used the IRS to harass opponents such as:
- newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Moses Annenberg, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer;
- Huey Long;
- radio agitator Father Charles Coughlin;
- former Treasury Secretary Andrew J Mellon[4]
1940s [edit]
In 1944 FDR intervened to kill an IRS audit of illegal campaign contributions made by a government contractor to then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson.[4]
1960s [edit]
The most famous Kennedy administration project deploying tax-related targeting was called the "Ideological Organizations Project". This was a project which investigated, intimidated, and challenged the tax-exempt status of right-wing foundations[2][1] like the Christian Anti-Communist Crusade, the American Enterprise Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education. [4]
Kennedy also threatened audits against companies to force them to comply with "voluntary" price controls. Steel executives who defied the administration were singled out for audits. [4]
Many instances of political profiling were coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sometimes under COINTELPRO.[5]
1970s [edit]
In 1974, a Bill of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon was approved by the House Judiciary Committee that included charges that his administration used the IRS in a discriminatory manner:
- RESOLVED, That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours...
- Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States...
- He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavoured to... cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be intitiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.
1990s [edit]
In 1995, the Clinton administration released a report titled "Communication Stream of Conspiracy Commerce" that listed the magazines, think tanks and individuals who had criticized President Clinton. Over the next few years many organizations including the Heritage Foundation and the American Spectator magazine and a dozen individuals including Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers were audited. The Associated Press reported in 1999 that "officials in the Democratic White House and members of both parties in Congress have prompted hundreds of audits of political opponents in the 1990s".[4]
2010s [edit]
In 2010 Pro-Israel group Z Street[7] filed a lawsuit against the IRS alleging that its application for tax exemption was delayed due to political profiling.[8]
Main article: 2013 IRS scandal
In May 2013, the IRS admitted that it had engaged in political profiling of conservative groups, causing a political scandal.
IRS culture [edit]
A 1992 survey of IRS executives and managers by the Josephson Institute of Ethics found that 75% felt it was acceptable to lie when testifying before a congressional committee.[9]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Marion, Nancy (2010) The Politics of Disgrace: The Role of Political Scandal in American Politics
- ^ a b Andrew, John A., III (2002) Power to Destroy: The Political Uses of the IRS from Kennedy to Nixon
- ^ New Deal Or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America By Burton W. Folsom, Jr. Chapter 11:"The IRS, FDR's personal weapon".
- ^ a b c d e Bovard, James. "James Bovard: A Brief History of IRS Political Targeting - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ Scherer, Michael. "IRS Scandal Echoes a Long History of Political Harassment | TIME.com". Swampland.time.com. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ "Watergate Articles Of Impeachment". Watergate.info. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
- ^ "Z Street". Z Street. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ "Israel-related groups also pointed to IRS scrutiny - Josh Gerstein". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ^ "Joseph & Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics survey of employee opinions ... - Joseph & Edna Josephson Institute for the Advancement of Ethics - Google Boeken". Books.google.com. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
