The IRS recently denied tax-exempt status to two organizations based on their political activities. The two groups – whose names have been redacted from letters released by the agency – sought tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(4), which is reserved for “social welfare” groups whose primary purpose is to benefit the general community.
Controversy has been
On May 10, 2013, the nonprofit tax bar – and much of the country – was rocked by reports that Lois Lerner, director of the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations Division apologized for the Service’s inappropriate flagging of conservative political groups for additional review during the 2012 election season. She made this apology in response
Tax-exempt groups known as 501(c)(4)’s have become a potent force in the 2012 election, eclipsing Super PACs as the vehicle of choice for many corporations and individuals because 501(c)(4)’s do not have to disclose their donors. Amid growing controversy about whether some 501(c)(4)’s are engaged in more extensive election-related activity than the law allows or
Close on the heels of a revocation we noted in a recent post comes yet another IRS ruling revoking 501(c)(4) status of a politically-active organization. In Private Letter Ruling 201224034, the IRS concluded that the organization was primarily benefiting the personal political and policy interests of the organization’s founder.
The ruling does not directly
The IRS recently revoked the 501(c)(4) status of an organization that identifies and trains potential candidates for one of the political parties. In doing so, the IRS borrowed a restriction from the law governing 501(c)(3)s, which requires such groups to serve a public rather than a private interest. There are reasons to doubt whether this