IRS Approval For Many Conservative Groups Still Stalled

It's business as usual at the Internal Revenue Service, where officials tell USA Today
that little has changed since Congress investigated the agency for targeting tea party groups for unnecessary delays.

Forty percent of the conservative groups caught up in the backlog remain in limbo, and new applications pending since May 2012 have not been considered.

The Cincinnati office that handles tax-exempt status groups still faces a backlog, however some officials believe there has been a change in culture and the process improved since division director Lois Lerner and IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned.

"I'm quite sure they're not going to go after tea party groups again," said Paul Streckfus, editor of a trade journal focused on tax-exempt issues.

"The larger question is, is the system working better than it did? And the answer, as far as I can tell, is it's not," Streckfus said.

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