It is well worth a trip back to the Constitution to determine who has the ultimate responsibility for the IRS. SECTION 8 of the U.S. Constitution opens with: "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debt and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States: but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;" Continue below the orange squiggle as I attempt to apply the specifics of this provision of the U.S. Constitution to the currrent controversey concerning the IRS and its processing of 501c4 appolications.
Thus the IRS is the agency that is authorized by Congress to "lay and collect Taxes", and whose actions can be considered an extension of the "Power" granted to the Congress by SECTION 8 of the Constitution. Hence it is totally wrong to lay problems with the IRS interpretation of the SECTION 8 provision of the Congressional Power "To lay" at the doorstep of the President of the United States.
Therefore the equity, propriety, and fairness inherent in the investigatory and certification provision sections of the rules for granting 501c4 status to organizations seeking EXEMPTION from TAXATION is specifically the responsibility of the Congress of the United States as defined by SECTION 8 of the Constitution.
From the prospective of this one U.S. citizen factual clarity concerning the current 501c4 controversy has become totally obscured by deliberate obfuscation by virtually every American news media channel that has been providing the American public with miss-information concerning which agency of the federal government of the United States is bound by the Constitution to be ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE for the "laying and collecting of Taxes" for the United States of America. The rules governing certification of organizations applying for 501c4 status MUST be the responsibility of Congress and Congress MUST be required to APPROVE such "laying", as this is their duty as provided by the Constitution.
Over the decades Congress has quietly been offloading its responsibilities as specified by the Constitution onto the Executive. Much talk has flourished in the Capital around a much needed review and upgrade of the U.S. Tax Code. The current 501c4 controversy caused in part by the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision needs urgent action by the Congress. We all need to pay careful attention to the various Congressional hearings regarding the current IRS condemnation and do not let the media obfuscation of the facts surrounding this issue derail these Congressional hearing so that Congress is allowed to once again shuck off its taxation management responsibility as provided by SECTION 8 of the United States Constitution.