When the 2017 tax reform bill passed, it included a provision that imposed an excise tax on compensation above $1 million for certain kinds of entities—including political action committees (PACs)—even if paid by the connected organization and not the PAC itself. Some companies feared that having senior executives provide services to the PAC could trigger
Pre-Election Year Housekeeping to Boost Your Government Affairs Program and Help You Stay out of Trouble
With an election year just weeks away, there are steps you can take now to boost the effectiveness of your government affairs program, and help your organization and its principals avoid legal trouble. This is a particularl
y good time to fill the coffers of your PAC, develop a political contribution plan for next year,
Don’t Reimburse Contributions. Period.
But, there are a lot of ways to improve PAC fundraising.
A Florida-based trade association voluntarily came forward to the FEC to disclose that it had reimbursed travel expenses for PAC contributors and was fined $9,000. The FEC found that the group developed a schedule for reimbursing travel expenses based on the amount given or pledged to the PAC. Under that system, the association reimbursed approximately $55,000 in travel expenses over the course of four years. Because of those travel reimbursements, the FEC concluded that the association had, in effect, reimbursed the PAC contributions. As such, it made impermissible corporate contributions and contributions in the name of another.
The reimbursement formula depended on the amount given or pledged to the PAC. Those who gave $1,000 per year, would get $750 in travel for each of two meetings, or a total of $1,500 per year. $100 contributors got $150 per meeting, or $300 total. If the association had reimbursed all directors for travel regardless of PAC contributions, that would have been fine. The problem was that the reimbursements were tied to the PAC contributions.
The FEC has said that the method for reimbursement does not matter. Bonuses, expense reimbursement, etc. are all impermissible. There are, however, permissible ways to incentivize PAC giving: