The probe by the Committee on Finance followed accusations by Republicans of IRS partisan activity in targeting groups mainly linked to the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement that had applied for tax-exempt status.
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“American taxpayers should expect more from the IRS and deserve an IRS that lives up to its mission statement of administering the tax laws fairly and impartially – regardless of political affiliation”.
The Finance Committee’s investigation also resulted in the first bipartisan report on the scandal, though Democrats and Republicans issued separate findings on key issues.
“Her influence led not only to indefinite delays in the processing of these groups’ applications for tax-exempt status, but also to audits”.
IRS guidance should require that employees reach a decision on applications no later than 270 days after the IRS receives that application.
By failing to locate and preserve records, making inaccurate assertions about the existence of backup data and failing to disclose to Congress the fact that records were missing, the IRS impeded the committee’s investigation, the release said.
The Finance Committee’s report is unique because investigators had access to confidential taxpayer information. Democrats also say that liberal groups were mistreated, too.
“This bipartisan investigation shows gross mismanagement at the highest levels of the IRS and confirms an unacceptable truth: that the IRS is prone to abuse”, said Sen. “This bipartisan report is a helpful addition to our own ongoing investigation”, said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
Democrats said interviews with 32 IRS employees and the review of 1.5 million IRS documents “found no evidence of political motivation driving the heightened scrutiny of Tea Party and conservative groups and the subsequent delays in processing their tax-exempt applications”.
In contrast, other cases involving progressive or non-affiliated applicants prompted the IRS to act more efficiently, leading the report to conclude, “The IRS’s treatment of these organizations was nearly universally consistent with Lerner’s personal political views”. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the finance panel.
“The results of this in-depth, bipartisan investigation showcase pure bureaucratic mismanagement without any evidence of political interference”, Wyden said.
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The IRS and other executive agencies began to scrutinize conservative organizations that had or had sought tax-exempt status soon after the administration of President Barack Obama had begun “a concerted effort to constrain spending on political speech”, it said.
