Paul L. Caron
Dean





Thursday, February 5, 2015

The IRS Scandal, Day 637

IRS Logo 2Bloomberg, IRS Chief: I Don't Want to Be Seen As Influencing 2016:

Rules from the Internal Revenue Service that would limit nonprofit groups' involvement in politics may not be enforced before the 2016 election, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday.

The tax agency's first attempt at those rules—released in November 2013—flopped amid criticism from groups across the political spectrum, which complained that limits on pre-election ads and voter guides would constrain free speech. The IRS withdrew that plan in May 2014 and hasn't offered a new version.

"It's not clear when we're going to be able to get to it," Koskinen told reporters after testifying at the Senate Finance Committee. "My only focus on 2016 is to make sure that whatever we do, it doesn't look like we're trying to influence the 2016 election."

Watching closely are groups organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, such as Republican-leaning Americans for Prosperity and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies. For now, those groups can get involved in politics as long as it isn't their primary activity—and they can do so without disclosing their donors and with relatively little threat of punitive action from the IRS.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2015/02/the-irs-scandal-1.html

IRS News, IRS Scandal, Tax | Permalink

Comments

Mr. wodun: There are also those who think the right has accomplished exactly, precisely what it set out to do--defang the IRS.

BTW, I was wondering if it is possible for you to write a blog that does not contain the word "idiot" or misusing nouns as adjectives? Give it a try, your prose will improve markedly. Perhaps you missed these items in your ESL classes.

Posted by: Publius Novus | Feb 6, 2015 6:20:56 AM

Now that everyone is watching, they can't do what they want to influence the election.

"For now, those groups can get involved in politics as long as it isn't their primary activity"

Every idiot claiming non-Democrat groups were breaking the law needs to understand that quote and understand that Democrats apply different standards to their own groups than non-Democrat groups.

Posted by: wodun | Feb 5, 2015 2:34:57 PM