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In a letter sent today to the House Ways and Means Committee, Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, urged the Committee to examine the failure of the IRS to properly enforce the tax laws against groups improperly claiming to be “social welfare” organizations under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code in order to […]
In a letter sent today to members of the House Administration Committee, reform groups called on the Committee to oppose legislation to repeal the presidential public financing system. The letter also urged the Committee to oppose proposed legislation to repeal the Election Assistance Commission. The reform groups sending the letter include Americans for Campaign Reform, […]
Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, today urged the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government not to undermine the IRS’s ability to enforce existing tax laws as they seek to address the agency’s targeting of certain groups filing for 501(c)(4) tax status. […]
In a letter sent today to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, forwarded fifteen letters that the watchdog groups had sent to the IRS beginning in October 2010 urging IRS action against groups improperly claiming 501(c)(4) tax status and calling for a rulemaking proceeding. The […]
In a letter sent to Senators and Representatives today, reform groups called on Congress to investigate and address both of the scandals at the IRS in order to prevent the same abuses from occurring in the future. As Congress rightly investigates the improper targeting of conservative groups, the letter also stated that Members have a […]
POLITICO Inadequate IRS rules helped create scandal By Fred Wertheimer The current firestorm over the wrongful targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service is one part of a picture that shows the existing rules to determine the eligibility of groups to qualify as section 501(c)(4) tax-exempt “social welfare” organizations are woefully inadequate. The […]
CBS News Is IRS missing a bigger tax-exempt scandal? By: Wyatt Andrews
The Washington Post’s Wonkblog ‘Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA were created for the purpose of hiding donors’ By Dylan Matthews Fred Wertheimer is the founder and president of Democracy 21, a leading campaign finance reform organization. He worked for Common Cause for 24 years, serving as a lobbyist for the Watergate reforms and as a […]
Time The Real IRS Scandal By Alex Altman The IRS is unpopular on its best days, and the past few have been among its worst. The agency’s admission that it targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny drew condemnation from across the political spectrum on Monday. “Outrageous,” declared Barack Obama. House and Senate leaders from both […]
The IRS was dead wrong to target conservative groups claiming tax-exempt status as section 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organizations based on their names and identified interests. This never should have happened and steps should be taken to ensure it does not happen again. At the same time, however, it is clear that a number of groups […]
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