On June 24, the IRS released “15 redacted versions” of a document showing which criteria justified extra scrutiny for groups applying for tax-exempt status. According to Bloomberg News, this criteria included things like “advocacy to Israel” as justification for more scrutiny before tax-exempt status was awarded.
The documents were all “Be On the Lookout” (BOLO) documents.
The word “progressive” was also part of the criteria BOLO listed as meriting extra scrutiny. This helps explain why Ameinu, a group which refers to itself as a “community of progressive Jews,” did not receive its 501(c)3 status until five years after applying for it.
Although last month’s BOLO did not include the specific language like “Tea Party” or “progressive,” IRS Principal Deputy Commissioner Danny Werfel suspended the use of the documents in setting criteria.
Werfel justified suspending the use of the documents by saying he and other IRS personnel believed “there continued to be inappropriate or questionable criteria on [the] BOLO lists.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.
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