Obama Administration Proposes New Curbs on Campaigning by Tax-Exempt Groups

[JaneyVee]

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration Tuesday proposed a crackdown on the widespread use of tax-exempt organizations for political campaigning, seeking to reduce the influential role that the secretive groups have played in recent elections.

The new "guidance" issued Tuesday by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service would curtail a broad array of these tax-exempt entities' activities, including campaign...


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1. There are other sources for the story that aren't paywalled

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/26/us-irs-rules-idUSBRE9AP10V20131126

The proposed rules introduce several bright-line tests that would determine when a 501(c)(4) is doing too much campaign activity and is violating its tax-exempt status.

Among these new definitions, advertising that names a candidate 60 days before a general election would count as political activity.

Certain contributions that can now be made anonymously by these groups may need to be reported. Any "voter guides" that refer to a candidate would be considered political activity.

Also, any event within 60 days of a general election at which a candidate appears as part of the program would be a political event.