It’s Past Time To End The IRS’ Reign Of Terror

Corruption: A federal court has harshly judged the IRS for harassing conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. We hope this brings far more trouble for the agency than it gave those groups.

Don’t think we’re downplaying what happened to these organizations. The IRS committed a serious offense. Its conduct was beyond outrageous. It held up nonprofit-status applications from Tea Party and conservative groups for political reasons, singled out the groups for unforgiving scrutiny and was actively looking for right-of-center organizations to grind in its 21st century inquisition.

On Tuesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals censured the IRS, ordering it to turn over the list of groups it had targeted so that a class-action lawsuit filed by the NorCal Tea Party Patriots against the tax collector can move forward with those groups as plaintiffs. An agency that has long acted above the law has now been told it is accountable. This is significant.

The three-judge panel was not sparing in its judgment. It noted that “among the most serious allegations a federal court can address are that an executive agency has targeted citizens for mistreatment based on their political views.” It also told the IRS lawyers that they had conducted themselves in a manner unworthy of the government’s tradition of impartiality and decency as they fought the lawsuit.

Tell Congress: Pass the Fair Tax Act of 2015! Sign the petition.