Bill Text: NJ SR109 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns Internal Revenue Service's review of organizations applying for tax-exempt status and urges Congress and President to provide for appointment of independent special prosecutor to investigate matter.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-03 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [SR109 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-SR109-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Condemns Internal Revenue Service's review of organizations applying for tax-exempt status and urges Congress and President to provide for appointment of independent special prosecutor to investigate matter.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution condemning the Internal Revenue Service's review of organizations applying for tax-exempt status and urging Congress and the President to provide for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate the matter.
Whereas, The federal Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration recently released a report that found that beginning in 2010 the federal Internal Revenue Service used inappropriate criteria to identify for review Tea Party and other organizations that applied for tax-exempt status based on the names or policy positions of the organizations instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention; and
Whereas, The report found that inefficient management by the Internal Revenue Service allowed inappropriate criteria to be developed and remain in place for more than 18 months, resulted in substantial delays in processing applications, and allowed unnecessary information requests to be issued to certain organizations applying for tax-exempt status; and
Whereas, Following the release of the report the Internal Revenue Service acknowledged publicly that organizations that included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews, and the leaders of certain other organizations, including some "pro-Israel" groups and religious charities founded by the Reverend Billy Graham, have alleged that they similarly were targeted for review because of their beliefs; and
Whereas, Following the release of the report the acting commissioner and certain other employees of the Internal Revenue Service have been placed on leave or formally resigned from their positions, and the former acting commissioner has apologized in testimony before Congress for the mistakes that were made and the poor service that was provided; and
Whereas, The Internal Revenue Service's use of inappropriate criteria to identify for review Tea Party and other organizations that applied for tax-exempt status is, however, about more than just mistakes or poor service or inefficient management of a group of low-level employees at a field office in Cincinnati; and
Whereas, The Internal Revenue Service's use of inappropriate criteria demonstrated a fundamental disregard of the agency's mission to help taxpayers understand and meet their tax responsibilities and to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all, and severely diminished the credibility of the agency; and
Whereas, The Internal Revenue Service's acknowledgment that it targeted certain organizations in their applications for tax-exempt status caused some to question the agency's ability to act impartially in determining whether organizations merit tax-exempt status, and caused many others to question, generally, whether the agency used the application process to hinder dissent, suppress speech, and pick and choose winners and losers for purely political purposes; and
Whereas, The perception that politics was involved in decision making at the Internal Revenue Service is especially troubling given that the agency relies on trust to fulfill its current tax collection responsibilities and the additional responsibilities allocated to the agency under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and
Whereas, Without trust in the Internal Revenue Service's ability to fairly and equitably administer the nation's taxes, taxpayers are left questioning their responsibility to pay tax obligations voluntarily and provided ample opportunity to find faith in the well-founded principle that the power to tax involves the power to destroy; and
Whereas, Congress and the President should enact legislation that reestablishes the Office of the Independent Counsel and provides for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor who is granted the power to investigate the matter to the fullest extent permitted under the law; and
Whereas, An independent special prosecutor will be able to resolve the questions that remain, including: who knew about the inappropriate criteria used to identify for review organizations applying for tax-exempt status, when those individuals who knew first became aware of the use of the inappropriate criteria, and if concerted efforts were made to cover up the agency's actions; and
Whereas, An independent special prosecutor will be able to hold individuals responsible for the use of inappropriate criteria accountable for their actions, ensure the Internal Revenue Services implements corrective actions to improve its review of applicants for tax-exempt status, and take appropriate action necessary to restore public trust in the agency; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House condemns the federal Internal Revenue Service's use of inappropriate criteria to identify for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status, and urges Congress and the President to enact legislation that reestablishes the Office of the Independent Counsel and provides for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor who is granted the power to investigate the matter to the fullest extent permitted under the law.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, each member of Congress who is elected from this State, and the acting commissioner of the federal Internal Revenue Service.
STATEMENT
This resolution condemns the federal Internal Revenue Service's use of inappropriate criteria in identifying for review Tea Party and other organizations that applied for federal tax-exempt status, and urges Congress and the President of the United State s to provide for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate the matter.
On May 14, 2013, the federal Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report that found that beginning in 2010 the Internal Revenue Service used inappropriate criteria to identify for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based on the names or policy positions of the organizations instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention. The report found that inefficient management by the agency allowed inappropriate criteria to be developed and remain in place for more than 18 months, resulted in substantial delays in processing applications, and allowed unnecessary information requests to be issued to certain organizations applying for tax-exempt status.
The Internal Revenue Service has since acknowledged publicly that organizations that included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews. This acknowledgement together with allegations from other organizations, including some "pro-Israel" groups and religious charities, that they were targeted for their beliefs has led to the resignation of the acting commissioner and the resignation or forced leave of certain other employees of the agency, and the issuance of a formal apology by the former acting commissioner for the mistakes that were made and the poor service that was provided.
The Internal Revenue Service's use of inappropriate criteria to identify for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status is, however, about more than just mistakes or poor service or inefficient management of a group of low-level employees at a field office in Cincinnati. The use of inappropriate criteria demonstrated a fundamental disregard of the agency's mission to help taxpayers understand and meet their tax responsibilities and to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all, and severely diminished the credibility of the agency.
The Internal Revenue Service's acknowledgment that it targeted certain organizations in their applications for tax-exempt status caused some to question the agency's ability to act impartially in determining whether organizations merit tax-exempt status, and caused many others to question, generally, whether the agency used the application process to hinder dissent, suppress speech, and pick and choose winners and losers for purely political purposes. The perception that politics was involved in decision making at the Internal Revenue Service is especially troubling given that the agency relies on trust to fulfill its responsibilities.
This resolution condemns the Internal Revenue Service use of inappropriate criteria, and urges Congress and the President to enact legislation that reestablishes the Office of the Independent Counsel and provides for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor who is granted the power to investigate the matter to the fullest extent permitted under the law. An independent special prosecutor will be able to resolve the questions that remain, hold individuals accountable for their actions, and take appropriate action necessary to restore public trust in the agency.
