tax exempt status

The recent decision in Freedom Path, Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service addressed whether the IRS’s standards used to deny Freedom Path’s tax exemption as a 501(c)(4) organization were unconstitutionally vague. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia partially agreed with Freedom Path, acknowledging that the relevant guidance…

Continue Reading Tax Exemption and Constitutional Vagueness – What Freedom Path Means for 501(c)(4) Organizations

Tax-exempt organizations, including private foundations and other types of nonprofits associated with high-net worth individuals, have been subject to increasing investigative scrutiny in recent years. Last Congress, for example, the House Judiciary Committee and several other committees issued document requests to multiple nonprofit organizations, and in this Congress the trend…

Continue Reading Tax-Exempt Organizations: Understanding Executive and Congressional Enforcement Priorities

Two items in last week’s news highlight that federal tax law remains an important consideration in the lead up to the 2014 and 2016 elections.

First, the IRS released a letter that denied the application of the Arkansans for Common Sense, a now defunct liberal group, for classification as a…
Continue Reading IRS Release Reflects Ongoing Scrutiny of Political Activity by Nonprofits

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

Like the men and women in red suits ringing bells on street corners, press reports are springing up everywhere alleging that numerous 501(c)(4) social welfare groups—including groups on both sides of the aisle—have violated their tax-exempt status by spending too much time and money on political campaign activities during the…
Continue Reading ‘Tis the Season!