COMMITTEE on WAYS and MEANS

The IRS Political Discrimination Investigation

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The Ways and Means Committee began investigating acts of potential political discrimination nearly two years ago on June 3, 2011. The investigation was initiated after concerns were raised that individuals were being targeted by the IRS.  Most recently, the Committee held the first Congressional hearing related to the IRS scandal, which included testimony by IRS Acting Commissioner Steve Miller and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George.

Following repeated congressional inquiries, on May 10, 2013, during an appearance at the American Bar Association, a senior IRS official acknowledged that the agency had been targeting conservative-leaning political organizations. On May 14, the Treasury Inspector General for Taxpayer Administration (TIGTA) released a report detailing a TIGTA audit of IRS activities and confirmed that, “the IRS used inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status.” The TIGTA audit confirms that targeting of conservative groups began in 2010. The report also confirms that, despite repeated denials to the contrary, IRS officials had knowledge of such activities as early as 2011.  During a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee the TIGTA Inspector General testified that U.S. Treasury officials were notified of the audit in 2012.