Just because the Justice Department’s investigation into the IRS resulted in no charges against the agency, it doesn’t hide the fact that officials had been targeting donors who dared to give donations to groups who didn’t comply with the Obama administration’s liberal agenda.
This exposed bias of the IRS makes tea party groups justifiably concerned about the agency’s plan to collect the social security numbers of donors who give $250 or more to an organization.
The provision, posted in September, is explained as such:
Accordingly, the proposed regulations require that donees who opt to use donee reporting must report that information as well as the donor's name, address, and taxpayer identification number.
This information is necessary, the agency insists, to “properly associate the donation information with the correct donor.”
Tea party groups are pushing back, arguing such details are superfluous. Here’s what Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin told The Daily Signal:
“They don’t need to be collecting Social Security numbers,” she said. “Donations to nonprofits are allowed to be kept confidential. Having gone through the [IRS] targeting [of conservative groups] because our name is Tea Party Patriots, I’m very sensitive to anything that expands the IRS’ reach into nonprofits and who their donors are.”
She, along with other right-minded organizations, are launching a Twitter campaign called #IRSPowerGrab Wednesday to draw attention to the agency’s continual overreach. Concerned citizens also have the opportunity to voice their opposition to the regulation until Dec. 16.
Halting this provision would be a victory, however slight, in the effort to expose the rampant corruption in the Obama administration.