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            Former US Tax Chief 'Dismayed' at Conservative Targeting

   The former head of the U.S. tax agency says he was "dismayed and
   saddened" to learn that conservative groups were targeted for special
   scrutiny under his watch, but told a congressional panel Tuesday he did
   not know about it as it was occurring.
   Douglas Shulman served as the commissioner of the Internal Revenue
   Service for more than four years until last November. It was a period
   in which the agency asked conservative groups extensive questions about
   their activities as they sought tax-exempt status.
   But Shulman said he "did not have a full set of facts" about the
   targeting of the right-wing groups until he read a recent report by a
   Treasury Department watchdog.
   Many of the conservative groups oppose a larger role for the national
   government and the tax and spending policies of President Barack Obama,
   a Democrat in the first months of his second term. Targeting of the
   conservative groups has provoked a political outcry from Mr. Obama`s
   Republican opponents, but the president also says he was outraged when
   he learned of the practice.
   The tax agency said it looked at conservative groups that had the words
   "Tea Party" and "patriot" in their names. The IRS said it was not meant
   as targeting, but rather as a way to make sure that the tax law
   affecting groups involved in political activity was complied with.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/former-us-tax-chief-dismayed-at-conse
   rvative-targeting/1665397.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/former-us-tax-chief-dismayed-at-conservative-targeting/1665397.html