Opinion: Politicization of Nonprofits the Real IRS Scandal

The “faux controversy” over Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative groups masks the “genuine scandals” in the tax agency’s lax oversight of politically oriented social-welfare organizations, a Los Angeles Times columnist says.

“Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years,” Michael Hiltzik writes. He says the tax agency’s questioning of such groups’ activities and funding sources is appropriate and has been applied to non-conservative entities as well.

“The biggest laugh line uttered in this affair is that the IRS is somehow ‘harassing’ these public-spirited organizations by asking them to justify their status,” Hiltzik writes. “Here’s a good rule of thumb: You don’t want to get harassed by the IRS? Then don’t claim a tax exemption you may not deserve.”