CRANBERRY TWP — IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman blundered by placing at arm's length the scandal that claims conservative groups seeking nonprofit status were targeted for extra scrutiny by IRS workers.

That's the opinion of Mark Everson, who was the IRS commissioner from 2003 to 2007. Everson spoke at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township on Tuesday.

He discussed the recent accusations by Republicans that the IRS has been targeting conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status for closer scrutiny based on their names or political themes.

Everson said the scandal was made worse by Shulman's stance on the issue in his testimony before Congress.

“His 'I know nothing' stance enraged the American public,” Everson said.

He said the responsibility should fall on the commissioner, who should be aware of the workings of all eight IRS departments he oversees. Everson said the total IRS reform effort being discussed would be overkill in dealing with the nonprofit scandal.

“I think this is a case of bad management, and it should be dealt with through new leadership,” he said.

Everson also worries that the autonomy from other federal government agencies necessary in leading the IRS may be compromised because of the scandal.

“I would be shocked and saddened if I find that there are any conversations between the government and the commissioner,” Everson said.

Health care law impactOn another topic, the Affordable Care Act, Everson said he does not refer to that health care law as “ObamaCare.”“Some people almost use that term as a curse word,” Everson explained.In addition to the health care law's general complexities, Everson said he hears the most complaints about the state regulations and the lack of permanency in the act.“If you're running a business, you want stability down the road,” Everson said.He said the act could unwittingly hurt those it is supposed to help because of a provision that requires employers to offer health care insurance to workers who log 30 hours or more per week.To avoid the regulation, large employers are scheduling employees for 29 hours per week, and some large retailers who are neighbors are sharing employees, he said“So the single mother is working 29 hours each at Burger King and Pizza Hut,” Everson said. “Her life is worse.”He said the act is a work in progress and contains many worthy facets, but controversy over it is not going away.“The political noise in the 2014 election is going to be contentious,” he said.

Inside the IRSEverson also talked about the inner workings of the IRS, including his giving testimony before 50 congressional committees during his tenure. Many of those sessions were spent advocating for the IRS budget.“But Congress just doesn't care about tax administration,” Everson said. “They are interested in spreading the goodies around the country to get re-elected.”He said of the 148 million tax returns representing 180 million to 190 million people that the IRS receives every year, the vast majority receive refunds. In 2004, 50 percent more people filed tax returns than voted, Everson said.He said hundreds of IRS workers spend their time ensuring the returns are correct and do not include identity theft. He said the IRS walks a tight rope in sending refunds to taxpayers.“If the IRS holds the check (while checking for evidence of fraud), people are angry,” Everson said, “but if it's too loose, hundreds of thousands in criminal dollars could go out.”He said IRS workers must do more than ever with a smaller budget and fewer employees. He said the IRS budget is expected to be cut by 24 percent next year, but taxpayers still expect a quick and accurate turnaround on their refund.He said because it is a taxing agency, the IRS has long been vilified by the public.“I enjoyed being commissioner, but it marked me for life,” Everson said.

Law's impact unclearBill Jones, president of Penn United Technology in Jefferson Township, said he would have liked to have heard more about the restructuring of tax code, but he enjoyed Everson's presentation.Jones said like many other employers, he remains uncertain of President Obama's health care reform.“The Affordable Care Act is going to affect us,” he said. “We just want to know how.”Guy Natale, coordinator of manufacturing and distribution services at Carbis Walker, echoed Jones' sentiments.“There isn't a lot of clarity on the implementation of this act,” Natale said.More than 55 people attended Everson's forum, which was hosted by Carbis Walker accountants and the Alliant Group, with which Carbis Walker and Everson are both affiliated.