The IRS Scandal, Day 735

Forbes, California Attorney General Can Demand Full IRS Forms From Charity, by Peter J. Reilly:

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in the case of the Center For Competetive Politics v Kamal D. Haris (Attorney General of California) is almost two weeks old and has been covered in other places, so I almost invoked my “You snooze, you lose” rule against myself, but I think I may have something to add. It concerns a fairly obscure issue, but the case does have a loose connection to the interminable IRS scandal (On Day 733 by TaxProf count as I write this).

The Center For Competetive Politics according to its 2013 Form 990 is dedicated to the “Preservation of the First Amendment rights to free political speech, assembly, and petition”. The appointment of the Center’s Chairman, Bradley A. Smith, to the Federal Election Commission was controversial given his vigorous opposition to campaign finance regulation. I guess it kind of looked like putting Daniel Berrigan on the Joint Chiefs of Staff or having Irwin Schiff head up the IRS. The Center received over $1.7 million in contributions and grants in 2013. 

As a 501(c)(3) organization CCP has to tell the IRS who its major donors are. This is done with Schedule B which is attached to the Form 990. Schedule B is not subject to public inspection, so you don’t get to see it on guidestar.org. Many states require charities to attach Form 990 to state filings. The instruction to Form 990 caution charities about not including the schedule of contributors in filings with states that do not ask for it, since they might inadvertently make the donor information publically available. 

It appears that CCP relies very much on a few large donors. The 2013 Form 990 on guidestar.org does not even include a redacted Schedule B, but if you go to the California Attorney General site, there is a Form 990 including a redacted Schedule B for 2011 that shows that of the $1.8 million raised in 2011 over $500,000 came from a single donor. Over $800,000 came from just seven donors who gave between $85,000 and $211,250.

The IRS knows who those seven donors are, but they are not going to tell us. The California Attorney General would also like to know who those donors are, without making them public. So the AG is requiring that CCP provided an unredacted copy of Schedule B. CCP does not want to do that . The Ninth Circuit just told them that they have to.

There were two arguments that CCP made. The first was that the disclosure requirement is injurious to the Center and its supporters’ exercise of their First Amendment rights. They referred to a “chilling risk”. So you feel OK giving money to CCP even thought Lois Lerner’s minions know who you are, but you draw the line when it comes to the California AG. The Court indicated that that sort of concern was subject to “exacting scrutiny” under which the government’s interest in obtainging the information must be weighed against actual damage to First Amendment rights. ...

• American Thinker, 9th Circuit Court's Democratic Campaign Contribution
• Courthouse News Service, Law Center Fights Calif. AG Over Donor Lists

• The IRS Scandal, Day 734 (May 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 733 (May 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 732 (May 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 731 (May 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Two Years And Counting (May 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 729 (May 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 728 (May 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 727 (May 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 726 (May 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 725 (May 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 724 (May 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 723 (May 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 722 (May 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 721 (Apr. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 720 (Apr. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 719 (Apr. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 718 (Apr. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 717 (Apr. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 716 (Apr. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 715 (Apr. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 714 (Apr. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 713 (Apr. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 712 (Apr. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 711 (Apr. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 710 (Apr. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 709 (Apr. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 708 (Apr. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 707 (Apr. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 706 (Apr. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 705 (Apr. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 704 (Apr. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 703 (Apr. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 702 (Apr. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 701 (Apr. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)