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Comment by pekk | Hacker News Reader

Not accurate. This was politically self-defeating (for the IRS personnel concerned, in that period in Ohio) but it wasn't Orwellian. These groups are anti-tax, associated with the Sovereign Citizens movement, and also applying for a nonprofit status that legally constrains political activities that these were likely to engage in. And in the end, they all got their nonprofit status anyhow. So the screaming about how they were picked on is really disingenuous.

Tax collection is a necessity for every first world country and unfortunately that means not taking every application for a nonprofit status at face value.

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Your comment couldn't be more wrong.

Linking every Tea Party group to the Sovereign Citizens movement is just a smear.

'Not being opposed to taxation' isn't one of the eligibility criteria for a non-profit.

501(c)(4) (aka social welfare) organizations can participate in political activities if they like. Many of the applications were for 501(c)(4) organizations.

Many of the groups targeted never received their nonprofit status after being unwilling to comply with the extensive and invasive documentation requests.

Tax collection might be a necessity for every first world country, but so is a bureaucracy that doesn't use its power for political purposes. Apparently, America doesn't have one of those.

> Linking every Sovereign Citizens group to the Tea Party movement is just a smear.

FTFY

These are mainstream political groups that are opposed to excessive taxes and spending, they have nothing to do with tax avoidance schemes.

These are fringe corporatist schills who present themselves as mainstream. The Tea Party is the Koch brothers' private political army.

And? Unleash the IRS on them because you don't like the Kochs? You have to be able to do better than this.

No, wasn't saying that, I was merely correcting the parent's understanding as to what the tea party is. The IRS's behaviour frankly only furthers their cause.

Moreover, it was also a decision at the staffer level that was corrected by superiors as soon as they found out about it, ie, before it had any meaningful impact.

Fixing things before they break... puts them one up on the banking sector by my count.

...was corrected by superiors as soon as they found out about it...puts them one up on the banking sector...

The staffers involved were fired and forever barred from working as government bureaucrats again?

(FYI, that is typically what happens at a bank if compliance catches someone deliberately misusing client information.)

"before it had any meaningful impact"

That part is blatantly untrue. The amount of paperwork and information forwarded (including lists of people) to the IRS was a meaningful impact and the delay causes had election effects.

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