IRS & 501-3(C)

The IRS in charge of reviewing applications for 501-3(C) organizations gets a lot of applications for tax-exempt status for their organization from right wing political groups including Glenn Beck, Karl Rove, and others, and the agents do their due diligence to ensure these groups are in compliance with the IRS laws (passed by Congress) prohibiting them from campaigning and only working for the "social welfare" of the country (the words in the law).

In the process the organizations and their answers to the initial questions raise the concern of the IRS agents so they do a more complete audit of these groups to ensure compliance with the law. All of them get approved but now those groups are bitching they were singled out by the Obama IRS for harrassment and undue attention.

Those agents did their job. It's just the sheer number of applications from the right wing political organizations and individuals which made it appear they focused on them as they did because it was the number of them at the time which also raised flags.

Those groups should have read the law about 501-3(C) groups before bitching being audited because they violated the law about their purpose and work. The agents merely did their due diligence, but I expect they'll be the scape goats for political expediency by the President to appease the Republicans.

I expect the IG's report will say they were a little zealous but nothing out of the ordindary considering the circumstances and situation at the time. The agents made the decision that the applications were suspicious under the law and investigated. Their error was then identifying all of them for being like the obvious ones.