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'Major accountability issues' for IRS, Congress's tax chairmen say

The Internal Revenue Service may need to be restructured after the agency was found improperly targeting conservative groups seeking nonprofit status, say Rep. David Camp (R) and Sen. Max Baucus (D), chairmen of congressional tax-writing committees.

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Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor
Rep. Dave Camp (l.) and Sen. Max Baucus speak at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters in Washington, D.C., in early June.

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Rep. Dave Camp (R) of Michigan heads the House Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Max Baucus (D) of Montana chairs the Senate Finance Committee. They attended the June 14 Monitor Breakfast.

The controversy over Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups:

BAUCUS: "There does need to be significant restructuring in the IRS.... Clearly, within the agency itself there has got to be some major accountability changes....

CAMP: "Clearly the management was either intentionally not looking or I would say so out of touch almost rising to the level of wrongdoing."

Their joint push for broad tax reform:

CAMP: "We have had a lot of years where the economy hasn't come back as strongly as it should. And so I don't think we have a lot of time to wait."

BAUCUS: "If we don't reform the code in this Congress ... beyond that it will be '17, '18, because if we don't in this Congress, then we are over in a presidential election season, and ... it is going to be very difficult to pass tax reform in that context."

Whether a tax on the carbon content of fuels will be part of tax reform:

BAUCUS: "There are more members of the Senate now who openly talk about that.... It is creeping up a little bit...."

CAMP: "I try not to make many declarative statements about tax reform ... but I don't support a carbon tax."

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