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Washington
–
Continuing
efforts
to
curb
the
ability
of
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
(IRS)
to
target
groups
and
organizations
due
to
their
political
beliefs,
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
today
introduced
the
Preventing
IRS
Abuse
and
Protecting
Free
Speech
Act.
The
legislation,
which
builds
from
a
recommendation
the
IRS
itself
is
considering,
would
ensure
the
tax
information
of
those
who
support
tax-exempt
non-profits
is
protected
by
changing
the
reporting
requirements
for
the
990
Schedule
B
form.
The
House
of
Representatives
is
expected
to
pass
this
legislation
later
today,
which
was
introduced
in
the
House
by
Representative
Peter
Roskam
(R-IL).
“The
IRS’
targeting
of
groups
based
on
their
political
beliefs
is
totally
unacceptable,
and
we
must
take
concrete
steps
to
ensure
it
never
happens
again,”
Scott
said.
“While
the
administration
has
not
taken
these
steps,
I
refuse
to
wait.
The
Preventing
IRS
Abuse
and
Protecting
Free
Speech
Act
eliminates
a
burdensome
reporting
requirement
containing
information
that
has
been
abused
by
the
IRS
in
the
past,
and
helps
protect
the
tax
information
of
those
who
choose
to
donate
to
non-profit
organizations.”
The
IRS
does
not
typically
utilize
the
990
Schedule
B
form
for
tax
administration,
and
has
shown
in
the
past
it
does
not
adequately
protect
the
taxpayer
information
on
these
forms.
Specifically,
The
Preventing
IRS
Abuse
and
Protecting
Free
Speech
Act
would
limit
reporting
requirements
on
non-profits
to
only
donors
who
contribute
$5,000
or
more
during
the
current
tax
year
AND
who
are
either
an
officer
or
director
of
an
organization
or
one
of
its
five
highest
paid
employees.
Currently,
the
990
Schedule
B
form
must
detail
information
on
all
donors
who
contribute
$5,000
or
more.
While
the
form
is
excluded
from
public
disclosure,
IRS
employees
have
been
shown
to
improperly
access
the
form
and
share
its
contents.
The
most
well
known
example
came
in
2012
when
the
National
Organization
for
Marriage
had
information
from
their
Schedule
B
form
leaked.
Last
November,
Senator
Scott
introduced
the
End
the
Partisan
IRS
Culture
(EPIC)
Act, which
would
decrease
political
decision-making
at
the
IRS
by
amending
the
Federal
Service
Labor-Management
Relations
Statute
to
designate
the
IRS
as
an
agency
that
is
exempt
from
labor
organization
and
collective
bargaining
requirements.
In
2011,
at
a
cost
of
$27
million
to
hard-working
taxpayers,
IRS
employees
spent
more
than
600,000
hours
of
official
time
on
union
duties;
more
than
200
IRS
employees
worked
full
time
on
union
issues.
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