IRS Sizes Up Political Groups’ Tax-Exempt Status
The Internal Revenue Service may be weighing changes to how it polices tax-exempt political groups amid charges the tax agency has been lax on enforcement for a new breed of campaign funding organizations with vast resources.
Tax-exempt groups are raising and spending record amounts of money in attempting to sway the November 6 elections, bolstered by the Supreme Court’s landmark “Citizens United” ruling in 2010, which lifted some political contribution limits in federal elections.
Consumer groups have been pushing the IRS to clarify the standards for these so-called “social welfare organizations,” as Section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code calls them, to ensure that they are not abusing their tax-exempt status.