IRS Discussed Confidential Information with White House Officials

by Bethany Monk, CitizenLink: A congressional committee revealed this week the IRS discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior White House officials.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held its hearing Thursday on the tax agency’s alleged harassment of conservative groups. It was revealed Top IRS Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram exchanged confidential information via 2012 emails.

Lois Lerner, who was head of IRS Tax Exempt Organizations, was among those cc’d in the email exchanges between the agency and the White House.

Before providing the emails to the committee, IRS officials redacted private information and replaced it with the code “6103.” The code suggests the emails contained information that should not have been shared with the people to whom they were sent.

In one of the emails, Ingram asks for clarifications of certain organizations. The email is addressed to Ellen Montz, White House health policy advisor, and Jeanne Lambrew, deputy assistant to the president for health policy:

“Would a free standing groups of schools like the [6103] file 990′s?” Ingram asks. In another paragraph, she asks: “The [6103] refers to ‘[6103] ….’ What does that mean? Can you give an example of this type of organization?”

The agency admitted in May that it targeted nonprofit organizations with words “Tea Party” and “patriot” during the 2012 election season. Shortly after, other groups — including the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse and the Biblical Recorder — said they, too, have been targeted.

And just last week, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) filed a lawsuit against the IRS over the release of the group’s 2008 confidential tax return.

All Americans should be concerned about the privacy of tax return data, said Pete Sepp, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.

“Taxpayer privacy is a cornerstone of our self-reporting system,” Sepp explained. “The IRS is already an intrusive agency, and has powers to watch over many of our financial transactions. Payrolls are already monitored through withholding, while certain financial activities such as stock sales are reported to the agency on 1099 forms. If taxpayers lose confidence that details of their private lives will remain confidential with the agency, there will be implications for voluntary compliance with the entire system.” . . . More Information

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