The New York attorney general’s civil suit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation (the Trump Foundation) and its board of directors earned significant media attention when it was filed on June 14, 2018, contemporaneous with referral letters describing potential violations of federal criminal law sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission. Subsequently, New York State’s Department of Taxation and Finance opened its own investigation into possible violation of state tax laws.

The civil suit, referral letters and investigation are reminders of the importance of compliance with applicable federal and state laws for charities. Private foundations, in particular, are subject to restrictive federal tax rules, many of which were relevant to the civil suit allegations; violation of a federal tax rule would implicate violation of a New York State statute as well.