tax

As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the country, many corporations, organizations, and individuals are looking for ways they can help fight back. This often includes donating money, goods, or services to federal, state, or local government entities. These well-intentioned donations can generate compliance problems if not handled appropriately from the…
Continue Reading Compliance Considerations for Companies and Individuals Donating Funds, Goods, or Services to Domestic Government Entities

So-called “dark money” — political contributions and spending by groups that do not have to disclose their donors — continues to draw the attention of state legislators, with Colorado and New Jersey recently adopting laws that attempt to force some donor disclosure from the groups.  They join other states, including…
Continue Reading New Jersey, Colorado Join Growing List of States Regulating “Dark Money”

In a significant and unexpected development, the U.S. Treasury Department announced yesterday that certain nonprofits — including trade associations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations — would no longer be required to disclose the names and addresses of their donors on the annual “Form 990” they file with the Internal Revenue…
Continue Reading IRS Announces Major Change To Nonprofit Donor Disclosure Requirements

Yesterday evening the Treasury and the IRS released, sooner than expected, proposed regulations that could fundamentally change the playing field for 501(c)(4) organizations active in politics.  The proposed regulations will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 29.  The pre-publication version is here.

Highlights

The proposed regulations…
Continue Reading Proposed IRS Regulations for 501(c)(4)s: Sooner Than Expected, But Probably Too Late

Twenty House Democrats yesterday introduced proposed legislation that, if enacted in its current form, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to:

  • Require corporations and labor unions which “submit[] regular, periodic reports” to their shareholders and members to include certain detailed information concerning their political spending.  That information

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Continue Reading OPEN Sesame or a Potemkin Village?

The IRS on Tuesday issued its eagerly anticipated 30-day report summarizing its initial review and assessment of “what went wrong” in connection with the IRS’s use of inappropriate criteria to screen exemption applications from Tea Party groups seeking recognition that they are 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations.  We had previously blogged…
Continue Reading Charting a Path Forward for Certain 501(c)(4) Organizations, and Perhaps Others

Late yesterday afternoon, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released its eagerly awaited report on its investigation into the IRS’s use of inappropriate criteria for screening tax-exempt applications (“IG Report”). The Inspector General initiated its investigation after members of Congress raised concerns during the 2012 election cycle that the…
Continue Reading Treasury Inspector General to IRS: Yes, That Was Wrong

In a floor statement yesterday, Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, blasted the IRS for allowing 501(c)(4) organizations to “exploit” the tax code and spend millions on political campaign activity.  In connection with his statement, the…
Continue Reading IRS to Senator Levin: IRS Conducting Over 70 Audits of 501(c)(4) Organizations

In an exchange of letters released Monday by Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, the IRS has stated that it will consider changes in the rules relating to political activity by 501(c)(4) organizations as it works to identify tax issues that should be addressed through regulations or other…
Continue Reading The IRS and 501(c)(4) Groups: Change May Come, But Not Quickly Enough For Some