IRS Disclosure Rule Agenda

by AF "Tony" Branco

 by Kerby Anderson: Now that we are beginning our new year, I want to alert you to some proposed IRS regulations that could have a negative effect on political activity. And I might add that all of this is happening just months after the inspector general of the IRS revealed that the tax collection agency had been targeting conservative political groups.

The proposed regulations from the IRS would place various restrictions on what nonprofit groups could discuss before an election. More significantly, the regulations would force these 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose private information about donors to political candidates and parties.

A little history is in order. In previous decades, the Supreme Court ruled that people have a right to engage in anonymous political activity. Those rulings protected citizens who donated to civil-rights organizations and other similar organizations from harassment. It did rule in one 1976 case that in very unusual and narrow circumstances that the government could compel the disclosure of information.

Until the 1990s, liberal groups dominated most of the 501(c)(4) organizations. That has changed, and these new rules appear to be an attempt to silence conservative groups, such as pro-life, pro-family, and tea party groups.

In a world where all citizens respect the right of other citizens to donate to political causes, financial disclosure would be a good idea. But that is not the world in which we live. After voters in California passed the Proposition 8 initiative, gay activists began to target anyone who donated to the campaign to define marriage as one man and one woman. In previous commentaries, I've talked about the threats, harassment, and even vandalism aimed at pro-family people who donated to the campaign to define marriage.

Less than a year ago, we learned that bureaucrats in the IRS targeted conservative groups. We should be suspicious of IRS regulations that would expose people who might have donated to those groups. These are rules we can do without.
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Kerby Anderson is a radio talk show host heard on numerous Christian Stations via the Point of View Network.

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