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The GAO report previously highlighted on this blog shows that the government is taking a hard look at tax exemptions in the Internal Revenue Code.

According to BNA News (subscription req’d) Diana Aviv of the Independent Sector said, “There is a significant challenge in setting the parameters for potential tax reform relative to treating some causes more favorably than others, and particularly that is seen by the public at large, who don’t necessarily trust that their elected officials would come up with the right formula to decide what constitutes that kind of favorable treatment.” Furthermore as one Finance Committee staff member pointed out the for-profit/charity divide has become blurred making legislative remedies all the more complicated. As the government addresses tax reform this issue will certainly come up.

Are all charities created equal, or are some more equal than others?  How will those decisions be made? Who will get to keep their tax exempt status?

If you don’t believe the Federal Reserve has unique powers, just try to think of another institution that has the capacity to bring Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tx.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) together into a coalition.

Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, recently told a town hall audience in Massachusetts that the House will pass a bill this fall requiring a complete audit of the Federal Reserve by the GAO. 

Rep. Paul was the original sponsor of the proposal (H.R. 1207), which now has 282 co-sponsors.

The WSJ has additional info.