Michael Coleman of the Albuquerque Journal reports:
WASHINGTON — The New Mexico Republican Party says that Sen. Tom Udall was among Democratic senators who wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking it to “target” conservative groups, but a Udall spokeswoman said the letter was aimed at potential misuse of nonprofit tax status by all political organizations.
Marissa Padilla, Udall’s spokeswoman, said the letter asked the IRS to scrutinize all “social welfare agencies” to ensure they weren’t breaking laws that bar them from “substantial” political activity. It also proposed new IRS rules, such as capping political spending by such groups.
Since 2010, Udall has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation aimed at reforming campaign donor laws, including forcing political action committees to disclose their contributors.
The March 2012 letter signed by Udall — reviewed Wednesday by the Journal — did not request that specific groups, such as conservative-minded tea party groups, be scrutinized.
“We write to ask the Internal Revenue Service to immediately change the administrative framework for enforcement of the tax code as it applies to groups designated as ‘social welfare’ organizations,” said the letter, signed by Udall and six other Democratic senators. “These groups receive tax and other advantages under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code … but some of them also are engaged in a substantial amount of political campaign activity.”
Udall on Monday denounced the IRS for specifically targeting conservative groups. Acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller resigned Wednesday in connection with IRS agents harassing such organizations.
John Billingsley, chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said Udall’s letter was “overreaching.”
“The IRS’ infringement on the First Amendment rights of certain groups is abhorrent, but what is even more disturbing is the fact that our own Sen. Tom Udall encouraged such infringement,” Billingsley said.
Udall, who is up for re-election in 2014, wanted “across-the-board” scrutiny of political groups taking advantage of the 501(c)4 provisions in the IRS code, Padilla said.
“Liberal or conservative, it is illegal for political campaign groups to masquerade as charities and social welfare organizations in order to get tax breaks,” Padilla told the Journal. “Special interest and secretive money is rampant in campaigns, and Tom Udall wants to change the way Washington does business and cleanup the system.”
William McBride, chief economist for the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in Washington, told the Journal the letter signed by Udall did not target specific groups but still was not a good idea.
“These are all Democrats with a lot of power, and ultimately they are the bosses in the minds of many government employees, including those at the IRS,” McBride said. “In retrospect, it was probably not wise of these senators to use their power this way.”
Updated 05/17/13
Senator Tom Udall’s office released an electronic copy of his 2012 letter to the IRS. Judge for yourself his intent.
Letter to IRS on Campaign Finance
Also see “Acting IRS chief ousted by Obama”
