Sample comments to the IRS regarding the new rules
Below are some sample comments to the IRS for their proposed rules. The are for sample purposes only, please provide your own unique comments.
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I am appalled by the proposed new rules (IRS REG-134417-13) that would codify the discriminatory and unconstitutional targeting of conservative 501(c)4 organizations that has occurred over the last three to four years. The IRS itself has admitted that targeting occurred, and the Inspector General corroborated this in his report. Now, under the guise of “fixing” what was broken, the agency seeks to make its illegal activities, legal. As a voter and a citizen, under these new rules, I will no longer be allowed to simply tell my fellow Americans how our elected representative voted, i.e. how well the representative represented them, if I am a part of a 501(c)4. The founders of this nation did not qualify the 1st Amendment in any way, confining speech – especially political speech – to the small, little box that exists today. The image of today’s IRS is already one of vindictive actions and institutional, systemic corruption. With these new rules, the IRS will cement its legacy as the premier oppressor of our rights and our freedom. When we look back at history, or around the world today, we can see where repressive rules, regulations, corruption, and lawlessness will take a nation and its people. Please do not take America down that road. I will be contacting my Congressman [or Congresswoman], Representative [Insert Name] to urge [him/her] to adamantly and actively oppose these rules, and to stop their implementation. Do something good and right for once and help us restore our freedoms by rescinding the proposed rules. Thank you.
The American government is supposed to apply the laws fairly and equally across the land and for all citizens. Four years ago, the IRS began to target conservative 501(c)4 organizations based on the political ideology and religious affiliation of the group, applying the existing law, rules, and regulations differently, discriminating against these groups. Sadly, this targeting is still occurring as most of the targeted groups have yet to receive an answer on their tax-exempt status and continue to receive intrusive questionnaires. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the new rules that the IRS has proposed to “solve” the issue of targeting and discriminating against organizations and people will only exacerbate and codify the problem. Simply put, the new rules will legalize illegal and discriminatory actions by continuing to oppress some Americans’ 1st Amendment rights, while allowing other Americans to fully express their constitutional rights. 501(c)3’s, labor unions, and trade associations like the Chamber of Commerce will still have the ability to legally engage politically, even though labor unions, for example, spent $4.4 billion on political expenditures from the years 2005 to 2011. The majority of the 501(c)4 organization are made up of regular, average American citizens and taxpayers. They just want to make the country a better place and for that they are being punished and penalized. The United States of America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, with liberty and justice for all. These new rules make a mockery of that grand American promise. Please rescind the proposed rules and allow the American people to engage politically, without fear of reprisal from their government, and restore the trust that we will all be treated equally by our government. I will be contacting my Congressman [or Congresswoman], Representative [Insert Name] to urge [him/her] to adamantly and actively oppose these rules, and to stop their implementation. Thank you.