The cynical reason is that it allows members of Congress to both avoid the tough decisions and allows them to avoid blame for any negative consequences of the implementation of the law.
So this is not a new story, simple the latest manifestation of a common phenomenon. It's called blame avoidance:
“We would not be at this point – this would not have happened – were the IRS to have interpreted the law more strictly, instead of creating this netherworld of, ‘Is it political or isn’t it?’ and not be clear about what the bright lines are,” she said.
Lawmakers, however, have refused to create a checklist, a set of criteria, or a minimum set of standards an organization must meet to be designated a 501(c)(4) – leaving it instead to IRS officials to essentially make it up as they go along.
“It’s done on an ad hoc basis and under very vague standards, and that’s part of the problem,” Jan Baran, a prominent Republican campaigns and election lawyer at the D.C. –based Wiley Rein firm, told The Fiscal Times.
These conditions allowed IRS employees to target GOP groups with names that included Tea Party, patriots, and 9/12 for 18 months, according to the report this week. But it’s Republicans who have pushed back against changing regulations that would force additional disclosure by non-profits, arguing among other things that it would be an abridgement of free speech .
