When it comes to the IRS, Trump pulls parallels to Nixon: NPR

From the use of tax data to the persecution of immigrants without legal status to the threat of tax exemption from Harvard University, President Trump has tried to use the IRS for his own political purposes, in a way that appears unprecedented.

But they are not. Former President Richard Nixon laid the basis more than four decades ago when he tried to use the tax driver to punish his enemies and help his friends.

“One of the things that Nixon considered was the threat of tax surveys of universities,” says Joseph Thorndike, director of the tax course project at tax analysts. “And that sounds very familiar when you read the newspaper these days.”

Nixon was angry with the universities because it was not affected by the Protestant of Vietnam War Warfie Hits. Trump complained about Harvard and other schools in Ivy League in a similar way to breastfeed protests against the war in Gaza Strip

“We will take Harvard's tax exemption status away,” Trump wrote in a social media contribution. “It is what you earn!”

Trump relies on Nixon's old Playbook, although laws were introduced to Watergate to prevent this type of interference through the White House.

The congress has protection for the IRS

Oval Office recordings from 1971 show how Nixon tried to install a hand-picked executor at the IRS to hand over his political tenders.

“I want to be sure that he is a ruthless son of a bitch,” Nixon told the Aides of a potential IRS candidate. “That he will do what he said. I see that every income tax return that I want to see. He will see that he will pursue our enemies and not go to our friends. It's so easy.”

Nixon's plans to eat tax returns, or examine the IRS goals from his “enemy list”, were not always successful, says Thorndike.

But not for a lack of experiments.

“Nixon tried very hard to abuse the IRS,” says Thorndike. “The congress surely saw this as a danger afterwards. When the President develops filists and sends them to the IRS and essentially says: 'I want you to check all these people I don't like.”

After Nixon left the office, the Congress passed laws to protect the IRS – and taxpayers – from political interference from the White House. These laws are now tested by the Trump administration.

Share of tax information with agencies outside the IRS

For example, the congress passed a law to limit those who can access information that taxpayers voluntarily provide to the IRS.

But last month, the tax increase authority has concluded a contract to share some of these taxpayer data with immigration officials to find and deport people who are illegal in the country.

Immigration lawyers apply for a court order to prevent the IRS from sharing data with other government agencies.

In response to an investigation by NPR on the data component's data compilation, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance defended the initiative as a “demolition data silos”. However, critics say that these silos were brought there according to the Nixon era for a certain reason.

“If the IRS is now forced to share data with people that it should not, this increases the risks of political targeting,” says Mike Kaercher, deputy director of the tax law center at New York University.

A deputy commissioner of the IRS resigned shortly after the data exchange contract was created. Trump has now been on his fourth acting commissioner since taking office less than four months ago. His candidate for the constant job, the former MP Billy Long, R-Mo., Still waiting for a hearing.

Search for the IRS to aim groups

The congress also tried to prevent a repetition of Nixon's list of enemy by requesting or disturbing the president and the people in his area in his area.

“I worked on the IRS,” says Kaercher. “If you are an IRS person and at the end of an improper request from a political official who use IRS as a weapon, you should go to the general inspector and report this immediately.”

This did not prevent Trump from insisting that the IRS Harvard and other non-profit groups of their tax-exhausted status should probably take out what would probably require an investigation.

The loss of tax benefits would be a severe blow for Harvard, which depends on tax -free gifts and tax -free equipment for almost half of the annual budget.

“I think Harvard is a shame,” Trump told reporters last month. “The tax -friendly status, I mean, this is a privilege. This is really a privilege. And it was abused.”

While Nixon's plans for the IRS in the Oval Office were secretly recorded, Trump reveals his on social media and live television.

“Donald Trump says it just loudly,” says Thorndike. “I would say that this is a choice. I don't think it's a good choice for the president.”

Trump said reporters last month that he was not personally involved in the decision to revoke Harvard's tax exemption. However, the leading democratic senators have requested an investigation of the presidents' measures by the general inspector to monitor the IRS.

The general inspector did not answer a comment on the request from NPR.

“The fact that there is even a question whether the administration violates these laws that prevent the weapons of the IRS is deeply worrying,” says Kaercher.

Exercise of tax rework in the IRS

At the same time, the administration calls on the IRS to examine individual goals. It also limits the agency's ability to pursue wealthy tax fraud more generally.

According to the report of a general inspector, the administration has reduced more than 11,000 jobs at the IRS, including almost a third of the tax auditors. In the coming months, the Federal Government will be expected to reduce the Federal Government in the coming months as part of a widespread effort.

This will probably affect the federal budget, since every dollar that has been issued for tax reimbursement is more than paid for itself in the event of increased tax surveys.

“A functioning, effective IRS is in all our interests,” says Thorndike. “And only the personnel agency was starving, which the taxpayers really blows back immediately.”