On Nov. 29, the Internal Revenue Service published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register intended to provide new guidance regarding the nature and extent of political activities that may be conducted by tax-exempt 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations.
Depending on your perspective, the proposed new political activity rules reflect public dissatisfaction with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling or an extension of last year’s IRS scandal targeting (mostly) conservative Tea Party organizations seeking tax-exempt status. The proposed new rules are either an attack on free speech and political theater to distract from the scandal, or they are an important step toward curbing the abuse that permits organizations engaged in partisan political campaigns and lobbying activity to operate with anonymous donors and nonprofit 501(c)(4) status.
