Adding to the "Ten Deadly Sins" of IRS Employee Behavior: Don't use Your job for Political Gains (H.R. 709)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 709?
(Updated May 6, 2020)
This bill would add to the list of things that IRS employees can be fired for: abusing official work procedures for political purposes. Basically using their position in the IRS with political motivations — for example, auditing a political organization that they don't agree with etc.
Currently, there is a list of 10 offenses that can lead to the firing of an IRS employee, nicknamed the “Ten Deadly Sins.” These "sins" were established in the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, and are as follows:
Willful failure to obtain the required approval signatures on documents authorizing the seizure of a taxpayer’s home, personal belongings or business assets.
Providing a false statement under oath related to a taxpayer or the taxpayer’s representative.
Any violation of a right set forth in the Constitution, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 against a taxpayer, the taxpayer’s representative, or another IRS employee.
Falsifying or destroying documents to conceal mistakes made by an employee related to a taxpayer’s case.
Assault or battery (with a criminal conviction) against a taxpayer, their representative, or an IRS employee. A final judgment in a civil case related to either the assault or battery also qualifies under this provision.
Violations of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Treasury Department regulations or IRS policies for the purpose of harassing or retaliating against a taxpayer, their representative, or an IRS employee.
Misusing the provisions of Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to conceal information from a Congressional inquiry.
Willful failure to file any tax return before the date prescribed to do so.
Willful understatement of federal tax liability.
Threatening to audit a taxpayer for the purpose of extracting personal gain or benefit.
You could argue that this bill is covered in that last bullet point, but this bill's sponsor doesn't want to take any chances. Although, audits aren't the only thing covered in this new provision, IRS employees would be fired for performing, delaying, or failing to perform (or threatening to do these things) for personal benefit or for a political gain.
Argument in favor
Any IRS employee that treats a taxpayer differently or improperly because of their political beliefs has breached the public trust. They have proven they can't be trusted to do their job and deserve to be fired.
Argument opposed
The threat of losing their job may prevent IRS employees from carrying out legitimate audits on taxpayers who have political backgrounds. Plus holding threats of firing over the heads of IRS employees is bad for agency morale.
Impact
Politically active taxpayers who could be targeted for their beliefs, IRS employees, U.S. unemployment rates, and the IRS.
Cost of H.R. 709
The CBO has analyzed this bill and concluded that it would not have a significant impact on the federal budget, as only a small number of IRS employees would be fired after targeting taxpayers for political purposes.
Additional Info
In-Depth:
In 2002, the Treasury Department asked Congress to reduce the punishment for the “Ten Deadly Sins” to give the agency more discretion when dealing with alleged offenses. The Treasury also claimed that related investigations and the threat of termination were hurting employee morale at the IRS.
Of Note:
In 2013 it was revealed that the IRS had selected groups applying for tax-exempt status for additional scrutiny based on the group’s political beliefs in the build-up to the 2012 presidential election.
While about 30 percent of the groups that had names with ‘progressive’ or ‘progress’ in their name were selected for additional review, the same audit found 100 percent of groups with ‘Tea Party’, ‘Patriots’, or ‘9/12’ in their name were subjected to the same scrutiny.
The IRS targeting controversy wasn’t the only incident in the 2012 presidential election cycle where tax returns were used for a political purpose. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) accused Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of not having paid taxes for 10 years. He recently showed no remorse for the claim that earned him a “four Pinocchios” rating from the Washington Post, saying that “I don’t regret that at all, Romney didn’t win did he?”
Media:
Sponsoring Rep. Mike Renacci (R-OH) Press Release
Americans for Prosperity (In Favor)
Daily Caller (Previous Bill Version)
Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user SimpleIllustrations)
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