WASHINGTON — Democrats are charging that political commercials financed by an increasingly prominent conservative foundation with ties to the Tea Party violate the foundation’s tax-exempt status by crossing the line into political campaigning.This story ties in closely with the last meeting of The Rowlett TEA Party and a discussion we had regarding incorporation and candidate endorsement.
In a complaint filed this week with the Internal Revenue Service, lawyers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged that the group, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, has been running ads in Kansas, Missouri and Michigan that are inherently “political in nature,” contravening a ban under federal tax law. A copy of the complaint was provided to The New York Times.
The foundation, which has just begun a $1.4 million ad campaign criticizing the economic policies in Washington as “wasteful spending,” has become a vocal critic of Democratic policies and drew a rebuke this month from President Obama.
Non-profit groups like the foundation, which falls under section 501(c)3 of the tax code, are forbidden from participating in “any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate.” They may, however, seek to educate voters or conduct broader get-out-the-vote drives “if conducted in a non-partisan manner,” the I.R.S. says.
Their tax-exempt status is crucial to the income of such groups, because it allows donors to take an income-tax deduction for contributions. Americans for Prosperity, which called the complaint without merit, said it had raised money from 70,000 individual donors.
Full Story Here:
Conservative Group Accused of Abusing Tax Status
Not that we are anywhere near the size of Americans for Prosperity, but as the article states, 'non-profit groups' and we are a non-profit group, at least for now, which falls under section 501(c)3 of the tax code, are forbidden from participating in “any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate.”
To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization described in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c)(4), an organization must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare. SOURCEI'm sure greater minds will hash this out, I hope it comes out well for AFP.
