IRS targets political nonprofit groups, conservatives shriek

IRS targets political nonprofit groups, conservatives shriek

By Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-irs-20131126,0,6112061.story#axzz2lnr4MoB7

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Way too late to avert scandal, the Internal Revenue Service has set forth new guidelines defining political activities by nonprofits. These are activities for which donations aren't eligible for tax exemptions or donor confidentiality.


What scandal, you ask? It's not the bogus scandal about the IRS targeting "tea party" and "patriot" groups for special scrutiny. It's the real scandal that these groups or any others were trying to get tax breaks and anonymity for political donations in the first place.

Unsurprisingly, conservative groups instantly put up a big squeal about the IRS rules; after all, they're the ones who have exploited the murky old rules most assiduously. "These proposed new regulations put the 1st Amendment rights of Americans at even greater risk," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, a big defender of the right of political donors to masquerade as public-spirited philanthropists and remain anonymous to boot. But make no mistake: Organizations across the political spectrum flouted the law, and they were all in the wrong.

The IRS proposal would dispel the murkiness that allowed illicit, anonymous multimillion-dollar political contributions to fly under the radar. It would define "candidate-related political activity" in detail, and make clear that it's not eligible for the tax exemption and anonymity granted to nonpolitical activities by so-called nonprofit "social welfare organizations," known formally as 501(c)4's.



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