House Leader Presses IRS for Updates on Nonprofit Investigations

The chairman of the House Ways and Means panel that oversees tax-exempt groups is seeking a broad array information from the Internal Revenue Service on its investigations of nonprofits, according to Bloomberg.

In a letter Thursday to the IRS’s commissioner, Douglas Shulman, Rep. Charles Boustany, Republican of Louisiana, asks how many charity audits the agency has started since 2008 and requests data on nonprofit organizations’ assets and revenue in that period.

Mr. Boustany’s letter cites the American Association of Retired Persons, whose tax-exempt status has been questioned by Republican lawmakers because it receives royalties from commercial insurance companies. “AARP is not the only tax-exempt organization that more closely resembles a for-profit enterprise,” he wrote.

The letter also seeks information on IRS reviews of community benefits provided by tax-exempt hospitals, executive compensation and business income at universities, and “excessive political campaign activity” by nonprofit advocacy groups.

AARP has defended its activities in testimony to Mr. Boustany’s committee.