Return of a politicized IRS? Democrats' push to expand tax agency raises concerns

Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.House Democrats are pushing for expanding the IRS with $5.2 billion dedicated to “enforcement activities,” prompting concern from conservatives who recall the tax-collecting agency’s politicized targeting during the Obama administration.Investigations by an inspector general and subsequent congressional oversight determined the agency’s exempt organization’s union unfairly targeted tea party and conservative groups.“You’ll see tremendous politicization of the IRS during a Biden administration,” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, told Fox News. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Bill Pascrell, D-N.J. It later adds, “Specifically, increasing the examinations and collections budget by $20 billion over 10 years increases revenues by $61 billion, and if it is increased by $40 billion over 10 years it would increase revenues by $103 billion.”The Democratically controlled House approved the $12.1 billion in a funding bill, but the House Democrats want to ensure Congress retains it for the final 2021 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.The conduct of IRS officials during a Biden administration is a bigger concern than any budget appropriations, said Jenny Beth Martin, honorary chairwoman of Tea Party Patriots Action.FORMER WHITE HOUSE INTERNS SAY UNPAID WORK PERPETUATES RACIAL INEQUALITY“At the IRS, the question is not will they get more money for enforcement, but will they return under a Biden administration to acting as they did under the Obama-Biden administration?” Martin said. That is simply a function of attitude, and whether or not they are going to treat the public they serve with dignity, respect and consideration for their constitutional rights.”The IRS scandal first came to light in May 2013, when the Office of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report asserting: “The IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax exempt status based upon their policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention.”This essentially “smothered” a movement since incorporation as a tax-exempt entity is key to raising money to expand, Norquist said.“What the Obama administration was able to do is kill that movement using the IRS,” he said.In August 2015, the Senate Finance Committee released a scathing report pointing to Lois Lerner, who was the IRS director of the IRS' Exempt Organizations Unit during the period from 2010 to 2013 when the abuse occurred.BIDEN BOTCHES HHS PICK BECERRA'S NAME, CALLS NOMINEE 'SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION SERVICES'“We found evidence that Lerner’s personal political views directly resulted in disparate treatment for applicants affiliated with Tea Party and other conservative causes,” the report stated.