Roskam: Tax-Exempt Groups Still At Risk Of Unfair IRS Audits
CHICAGO (CBS) -- U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam said there still seems to be a danger the Internal Revenue Service could perform audits on tax-exempt groups for political reasons.
Chairing a hearing of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, the Wheaton Republican said a General Accounting Office report has shown the same kind of risks now exist as when Congress found conservative groups and others were unjustly singled out for tax audits.
Roskam said he believes some tax exempt groups might still be targeted for unfair audits, but IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said that's not what the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has told him.
"We have been advised that in those cases … at our regular meetings, they have not found that anyone improperly selected anyone for an audit," he said.
Roskam remained skeptical.
"The GAO, at our request, has said this hasn't gone away," he said.
Koskinen insisted past problems under previous leadership have been resolved.
"As we've reviewed things, they have brought no case to our attention where there has been unfair exam selection in the exempt organization area," he said.
Koskinen and Roskam agreed abuses should not happen, and Koskinen said there are safeguards to prevent them from occurring.