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IRS Admits to targeting


F3SS

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Ignore those voices who warn of tyranny~ B.O.

UPDATE 2:03 p.m. ET – The story has taken yet another weird turn. The IRS in an attempt to explain itself released the following statement [emphases added]:

Between 2010 and 2012, the IRS saw the number of applications for section 501©(4) status double. As a result, local career employees in Cincinnati sought to centralize work and assign cases to designated employees in an effort to promote consistency and quality. This approach has worked in other areas.

However, the IRS recognizes we should have done a better job of handling the influx of advocacy applications. While centralizing cases for consistency made sense, the way we initially centralized them did not. Mistakes were made initially, but they were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale.

We fixed the situation last year and have made significant progress in moving the centralized cases through our system. To date, more than half of the cases have been approved or withdrawn. It is important to recognize that all centralized applications received the same, even-handed treatment, and the majority of cases centralized were not based on a specific name.

In addition, new procedures also were implemented last year to ensure that these mistakes won’t be made in the future. The IRS also stresses that our employees – all career civil servants — will continue to be guided by tax law and not partisan issues.

However, this clearly contradicts Lerner’s earlier claim that the IRS looked for groups that included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their applications for tax-exempt status.

So what’s really going on?

If this was just some sort of bureaucratic hiccup (as the IRS statement claims it was), then what, exactly, was Lerner talking about? Also, you can’t say that this was entirely “nonpartisan” when Lerner — a top ranking official — specifically stated that they were flagging groups that used “patriot” and “tea party” in their applications.

Someone needs to get their story straight.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m. ET – In case you were wondering why the IRS hadn’t mentioned or addressed this issue until today, here’s your “answer”:

IRS says no apology before today because no one ever asked.

about 2 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@ktumulty

Karen Tumulty

Much more... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/10/shock-irs-formally-apologizes-for-inappropriately-flagging-conservative-group-in-the-2012-election/

Seriously, anyone think this wasn't on request of an administration looking for reasons to trash conservatives during an election season? After all, every other attempt failed. James Holmes, not a tea partier. Jared Laughner, not a tea partier, not inspired by Palin. George Zimmerman, not a white racist. Racism in the tea party, couldn't even find it by offering a huge reward. Mitt Romney, paid his taxes contrary to weasel Reid's nonexistent source. All you hear from the left is how washed up and insignificant the tea party and conservatism is. If so, why the need to go far out of the way to find dirt?

How insulting is that tweet btw? Because no one asked... The gall. I hate these henchmen. They aren't even a government institution. They're the goons for the Federal Reserve and our government are their soldiers. The Reserve are the real bosses. Argghhh! So many things to btch about!

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Yeah, this is outrageous.

An apology isn't going to cut it this time.

Blood for the blood god!

Skulls for the skull throne!

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I totally believe this and doesn't surprise me at all.

Why are the Democrats so scared of the Tea party? Hmmm.....

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FLASHBACK 2009: Obama Jokes About IRS Auditing Political Enemies

Back in May 2009, Professor Glenn Reynolds, better known to his followers as Instapundit, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he discussed some odd rhetoric from President Obama. Obama had been refused an honorary doctorate by Arizona State University, and Obama remarked, “President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.” Reynolds pointed out:

Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.

As it turns out, the IRS under President Obama routinely gave special scrutiny for groups with the terms “tea party” or “patriots” in their titles. His little joke doesn’t read much like a joke anymore.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/10/Flashback-2009-auditing-political-enemies

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FLASHBACK 2009: Obama Jokes About IRS Auditing Political Enemies

Back in May 2009, Professor Glenn Reynolds, better known to his followers as Instapundit, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he discussed some odd rhetoric from President Obama. Obama had been refused an honorary doctorate by Arizona State University, and Obama remarked, “President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.” Reynolds pointed out:

Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.

As it turns out, the IRS under President Obama routinely gave special scrutiny for groups with the terms “tea party” or “patriots” in their titles. His little joke doesn’t read much like a joke anymore.

http://www.breitbart...litical-enemies

:tu:

Wow, great post!

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Blood for the blood god!

Skulls for the skull throne!

HARRIERS FOR THE CUP!

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FLASHBACK 2009: Obama Jokes About IRS Auditing Political Enemies

Back in May 2009, Professor Glenn Reynolds, better known to his followers as Instapundit, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he discussed some odd rhetoric from President Obama. Obama had been refused an honorary doctorate by Arizona State University, and Obama remarked, “President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS.” Reynolds pointed out:

Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.

As it turns out, the IRS under President Obama routinely gave special scrutiny for groups with the terms “tea party” or “patriots” in their titles. His little joke doesn’t read much like a joke anymore.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/10/Flashback-2009-auditing-political-enemies

Wow...

I heard they're going to target small business owners next .

God forbid you should try to make a living on your own terms ,and be successful .

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Wow...

I heard they're going to target small business owners next .

God forbid you should try to make a living on your own terms ,and be successful .

Dude, they already do. If you have a small business, you are a 100x more likely to be audited by the IRS. I know this for a fact.

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Dude, they already do. If you have a small business, you are a 100x more likely to be audited by the IRS. I know this for a fact.

I know there's a million "how-to's" on avoiding the tax man but one thing I heard that always stuck with me was that if your business shows a profit for three years in a row your red flag status declines dramatically. I think my accountant told me that. A classic small business cheat is to collect every receipt you can find, sticking out of gas pumps or lying in a grocery cart and such, and use those for write offs. As ridiculous as that is in the first place just for the fact that not just anything can be written off some knuckleheads use so many material receipts they begin to chip away at the profits and some show so many that it appears as if they spent more money then they brought in.

Sometimes that turns out to be legit and is generally accepted for the first couple years in business but after so long if you're not showing a profit you're either running a business terribly or you're cheating.

Just a tip for any small business hopefuls... First hire an accountant even if you're going to be a sole proprietor. Second, hire a lawyer if you're going with LLC or incorporating. Those things are the cheap part. Screwing up your taxes and/or getting audited will be the expensive part. If you're hiring employees you definitely need those services but make sure you have a payroll accountant. A couple years ago I actually left my accountant because my bank offered online payroll that I could do myself. That lasted only 3 months before I came crawling back to her. First, the time it took up. Second, the forms and paperwork that began showing up. I about lost it. It was a nightmare. Anyhow, when I went back she went through the mess I made and ended up saving me a thousand dollars that I almost gave to the IRS. Her services only cost a couple grand a year or about $35-$40 a week on average. So having an accountant will pay for itself. I could've been making a lot more than $35-$40 a week in the time I was spending trying to do and comprehend payroll.

I know I know, I go on sometimes but when I feel there is advice to be given I can't help myself.

Edited by F3SS
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I know there's a million "how-to's" on avoiding the tax man but one thing I heard that always stuck with me was that if your business shows a profit for three years in a row your red flag status declines dramatically. I think my accountant told me that. A classic small business cheat is to collect every receipt you can find, sticking out of gas pumps or lying in a grocery cart and such, and use those for write offs. As ridiculous as that is in the first place just for the fact that not just anything can be written off some knuckleheads use so many material receipts they begin to chip away at the profits and some show so many that it appears as if they spent more money then they brought in.

Sometimes that turns out to be legit and is generally accepted for the first couple years in business but after so long if you're not showing a profit you're either running a business terribly or you're cheating.

Just a tip for any small business hopefuls... First hire an accountant even if you're going to be a sole proprietor. Second, hire a lawyer if you're going with LLC or incorporating. Those things are the cheap part. Screwing up your taxes and/or getting audited will be the expensive part. If you're hiring employees you definitely need those services but make sure you have a payroll accountant. A couple years ago I actually left my accountant because my bank offered online payroll that I could do myself. That lasted only 3 months before I came crawling back to her. First, the time it took up. Second, the forms and paperwork that began showing up. I about lost it. It was a nightmare. Anyhow, when I went back she went through the mess I made and ended up saving me a thousand dollars that I almost gave to the IRS. Her services only cost a couple grand a year or about $35-$40 a week on average. So having an accountant will pay for itself. I could've been making a lot more than $35-$40 a week in the time I was spending trying to do and comprehend payroll.

I know I know, I go on sometimes but when I feel there is advice to be given I can't help myself.

You haven't gone on and on. You have some very helpful advice. Me and my husband have to hire someone to do our taxes. But it was TOTALLY worth it. My husband is considered a "contractor" and I have my own home business, so it is really complicated. But glad I was able to find someone who could help us.

Having your own business, or being paid by a check and not having taxes taken out, is a really complicated business unfortunately....

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You haven't gone on and on. You have some very helpful advice. Me and my husband have to hire someone to do our taxes. But it was TOTALLY worth it. My husband is considered a "contractor" and I have my own home business, so it is really complicated. But glad I was able to find someone who could help us.

Having your own business, or being paid by a check and not having taxes taken out, is a really complicated business unfortunately....

If you don't have employees it really isn't too complicated. Basically, you should save your legitimately business related receipts. If you buy business related things in different categories such as office supplies or job materials keep them separated and keep tack of them on a spreadsheet in proper category columns. Most importantly, every dollar you get just take 30% and put it in a separate checking account labeled tax account. Just put that money away and forget you have it. Every thousand you make put away $300. It adds up fast. My tax account is always far larger then my personal account which is the money that I get to save and keepIf you pull in $5000 one month and spend it all just know that you'll be behind in your taxes by $1500 that you'll have to make up eventually. Oh yea, and keep a business checking account too. Maybe not right away but as soon as you can get a few bucks stashed into one use only that account to buy business things. Deposit all payments into that account and write yourself paychecks from that account and put them in your personal one. Then, transfer 30% of that into your tax account and cry every time you look at all that money you have to give away. Do not make a habit of keeping the same account for business and personal.

Youre smart though so I'm sure you know much of this already. I don't know everything but I've been in business for several years and always learn more. All that stuff was overwhelming at first but it gets to be second nature. Ask me anytime you may have a question. Im a contractor too. As I said, I don't know it all but I might be able to help although I bet if you do it'll be the one thing I have no idea about.

Edited by F3SS
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If you don't have employees it really isn't too complicated. Basically, you should save your legitimately business related receipts. If you buy business related things in different categories such as office supplies or job materials keep them separated and keep tack of them on a spreadsheet in proper category columns. Most importantly, every dollar you get just take 30% and put it in a separate checking account labeled tax account. Just put that money away and forget you have it. Every thousand you make put away $300. It adds up fast. My tax account is always far larger then my personal account which is the money that I get to save and keepIf you pull in $5000 one month and spend it all just know that you'll be behind in your taxes by $1500 that you'll have to make up eventually. Oh yea, and keep a business checking account too. Maybe not right away but as soon as you can get a few bucks stashed into one use only that account to buy business things. Deposit all payments into that account and write yourself paychecks from that account and put them in your personal one. Then, transfer 30% of that into your tax account and cry every time you look at all that money you have to give away. Do not make a habit of keeping the same account for business and personal.

Youre smart though so I'm sure you know much of this already. I don't know everything but I've been in business for several years and always learn more. All that stuff was overwhelming at first but it gets to be second nature. Ask me anytime you may have a question. Im a contractor too. As I said, I don't know it all but I might be able to help although I bet if you do it'll be the one thing I have no idea about.

Thanks for the advice. I'm really good about keeping ALL receipts and I'm very organized. And me and my husband always put back a little bit of our paychecks for taxes. Even if you don't use all the money for taxes, it's better to be safe then sorry.

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Thanks for the advice. I'm really good about keeping ALL receipts and I'm very organized. And me and my husband always put back a little bit of our paychecks for taxes. Even if you don't use all the money for taxes, it's better to be safe then sorry.

That's true. Good luck to you.

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http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/10/darrell-issa-my-committee-will-aggressively-follow-up-on-the-irss-political-thuggery/

Darrell Issa: My committee will “aggressively follow up” on the IRS’s political thuggery

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., requested the IG look into allegations of political retaliation last June. In response to the today’s disclosure and apology by IRS, Issa and Jordan issued the following statement:

“The fact that Americans were targeted by the IRS because of their political beliefs is unconscionable. The Committee will aggressively follow up on the IG report and hold responsible officials accountable for this political retaliation.”

Darrel Issa is my local rep.

I emailed him immediately once I saw this story.

Hope my email helped move this investigation forward. :)

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http://hotair.com/ar...tical-thuggery/

Darrell Issa: My committee will “aggressively follow up” on the IRS’s political thuggery

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., requested the IG look into allegations of political retaliation last June. In response to the today’s disclosure and apology by IRS, Issa and Jordan issued the following statement:

“The fact that Americans were targeted by the IRS because of their political beliefs is unconscionable. The Committee will aggressively follow up on the IG report and hold responsible officials accountable for this political retaliation.”

Darrel Issa is my local rep.

I emailed him immediately once I saw this story.

Hope my email helped move this investigation forward. :)

Wow. Nice that at least someone is doing something about this. It's been all over Yahoo news....

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"Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tea Party of the United States?"

I can see it now .....

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I fully see the injustice of special scrutiny if your politics differs from that of those in power, but why should it make a difference? Surely they are all obeying the law?

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I fully see the injustice of special scrutiny if your politics differs from that of those in power, but why should it make a difference? Surely they are all obeying the law?

It made a huge difference, as these groups were denied tax exempt status that was given to organizations on the "other side" of the political fence... And these organizations had to spend their time and resources on audit after audit - which is no pleasant thing let me assure you!... Then "Miraculously" a month or so AFTER the election, they are granted their status, and told they had no discrepancies...

What's next?.. Arresting members of the Tea Party without cause and holding them under suspicion until after the election?... Surely there is no problem if they did this is there? I mean Surely they are obeying the law so what do they have to worry about... Do you see the problem with your statement Frank?...

Edited by Taun
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If they were obeying the law and got their exemption taken away regardless, then sue. If on the other hand the IRS was right and they weren't obeying the law, then what right have they to complain? I don't see why Congress should be involved unless its just politics.

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Frank, trust that you wouldn't be happy if you lived here and one year the IRS started targeting only Vietnamese people. Regardless if you're following the rules, dealing with the IRS is time consuming and stressful especially if they're dicking you around on purpose for an indefinite amount of time.

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You bet I wouldn't be happy; but that isn't relevant. Try to get at the point I'm making.

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Not relevant? It's a perfect comparison. You implied it should be no big deal, unless it affects you apparently. The organizations shouldn't have to sue or waste any more of their time on this crap. You're trying to spin this into a positive light for the IRS. They admitted they screwed up. You're not allowed to do these things here. What they'll never admit is who told them to do what they did but regardless it was wrong.

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Its a tremendous deal; look at all the headlines. You have to understand that I believe in the party and country I live in, besides being a Buddhist. I think two-party systems are inherently corrupt and this is an example. However, I was reluctant to be so blunt as to spell it out.

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Its a tremendous deal; look at all the headlines. You have to understand that I believe in the party and country I live in, besides being a Buddhist. I think two-party systems are inherently corrupt and this is an example. However, I was reluctant to be so blunt as to spell it out.

I got that part. I didn't get this part...

but why should it make a difference? Surely they are all obeying the law?
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