IRS Exec at Heart of Targeting Scandal Collected Big Bonuses

The executive in charge of the Internal Revenue Service's tax exemption department received more than $42,000 in bonuses over three years.

The IRS, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Washington Examiner, provided data showing that Lois Lerner, who is director of the agency's exempt organizations division, collected $17,220 in 2010, $14,691 in 2011, and $10,620 in 2012.

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Lerner oversees the department that processes applications from groups seeking tax-exempt status. She is at the center of the growing scandal involving its targeting of tea party and other conservative nonprofit groups.

According to the information obtained by the Examiner, her salary in 2009 and 2010 was $172,200, and in 2011 and 2012 was $177,000. That brought her total pay for the four-year period to $740,931, including the bonuses.

Lerner acknowledged last week that her department had targeted conservative groups with words such as "tea party" and "patriot" in their names, delaying their applications in many cases by several months.