Then there was the IRS scandal of the Tea Party era. Conservative political groups during the Obama administration had trouble obtaining tax-exempt status, which created a politically damaging scandal, although later reviews found no partisan political targeting, as liberal groups were also scrutinized.
what is happening now
News of the former FBI officials facing audits broke Wednesday. McCabe immediately called for an investigation. “The occurrence of this one in 30,000 event, twice, for the same people being targeted in the same way by the former President, and continuing to be targeted to this day, I would add, is — it’s just — it defies belief,” McCabe, now a CNN law enforcement analyst, told “New Day” on Thursday. The head of the IRS has asked a watchdog to investigate, the agency said Thursday.
Is there direct evidence that the IRS specifically targeted Comey and McCabe?
No. It may just be an incredible coincidence that these two top FBI officials, who were both fired by the Trump administration in public and spectacular fashion, were subsequently subjected to random testing.
How big of a coincidence is that?
Large. In both tax filing years that Comey (2017) and McCabe (2019) examined, Americans filed approximately 153 million tax returns. About 5,000 of these types of checks were conducted in 2017 and about 8,000 in 2019, according to the Times report.
How were Comey and McCabe chosen at random?
Here’s what the IRS says on its website about the random selection of tax returns for these audits: Random selection and computer control – sometimes returns are selected based solely on a statistical formula. We compare your tax return with “rules” for similar returns. We develop these “rules” from reviews of a statistically valid random sample of returns as part of the National Research Program conducted by the IRS. An experienced auditor is asked by the IRS to review each return flagged by the system and may then refer it for an audit.
Was there something wrong with Comey and McCabe’s taxes?
No. Comey actually received a small refund of $347, according to the Times, and McCabe said he had to pay a small amount of additional money to the IRS.
What does the IRS say about this coincidence?
The agency seems to be taking the matter seriously. IRS Director Charles Rettig, a Trump appointee, referred the allegation to the Treasury Department’s inspector general, and in a statement the agency vehemently denied any wrongdoing. “It is ridiculous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials were somehow targeting specific individuals for National Research Program audits,” the IRS said. The IRS said audits are handled by career civil servants and have safeguards against politically motivated audits.
When did these random checks take place?
Comey was notified of his audit for the 2017 tax year in November 2019, according to the Times. McCabe was notified of his audit for the 2019 tax year in October 2021, after Trump left office. The agency said in a statement to the Times that Rettig, who has led the IRS since 2018, has no role in selecting candidates for audits. McCabe told “New Day” Thursday that he suspected no wrongdoing until contacted by The New York Times. He also praised the IRS employee who conducted his audit. However, he argued that an investigation was needed.
Why were Comey and McCabe fired again by the Trump administration?
Comey was fired by Trump, at least in part, because he refused to pledge loyalty to the then-President and squelch the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump campaign officials were involved. McCabe was fired as FBI deputy director in 2018, just days before he was eligible for early retirement. He later settled a lawsuit against the Justice Department and was able to effectively eliminate severance and retirement benefits. Trump disliked McCabe because he was involved in the same Russia investigation, and Trump had frequently attacked McCabe’s wife, who ran for state senate in Virginia as a Democrat in 2015. CNN has reached out to Trump’s representatives for comment. The former President, through a spokesman, said in a statement to the Times: “I am not aware of that.”
What is the current history with IRS audits?
The IRS has actually been auditing fewer people in recent years, according to a recent GAO report. It audits people making less than $25,000 and more than $500,000 at the highest rate, according to the GAO. A separate report by the Congressional Research Service documented a 63% drop in the IRS examination rate between 2010 and 2019, largely due to budget cuts and fewer examiners. The IRS has shrunk from more than 46,000 employees in its collections and examiner workforce in 2010 to fewer than 30,000 in 2019.
Shouldn’t checks be private?
Yes. Just ask Trump, who has a years-long standoff with the IRS over massive deductions he took. He has for years refused to release his tax returns despite the longstanding custom of presidential candidates. The Times eventually acquired and published some of them. Trump has spent years trying to shield his tax returns from investigators in New York and Congress. The IRS also launched an investigation after ProPublica recently obtained and published information about the tax returns of the wealthiest Americans, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett. This remarkable series of reports showed how the richest people on Earth avoid paying taxes.
