Category Archives: tax law and election law

“Dark money group America First Policies is running a pro-Trump polling operation. Here is an inside look at its secretive work”

March 1, 2018, 10:03 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CNBC: America First Policies, a nonprofit group with close ties to President Donald Trump, has hired Trump’s pollsters to conduct a wide range of political polling and research that experts say resembles the kind of expensive work the Republican… Continue reading

“Secret donors come back to boost former-Koch group”

January 25, 2018, 8:09 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Robert Maguire for Open Secrets: A secretive political group that is little more than a mailbox full of money in a Des Moines UPS Store raised more than $29.4 million in 2016, most of which was funneled into ads… Continue reading

IRS Enters Consent Decree with, Apologizes to, True the Vote for Lois Lerner Controversy

January 24, 2018, 7:40 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

I wonder if the Obama-led IRS would have agreed to this.

“Proposal to Let Churches and Other Nonprofits Get Political Blocked from Tax Bill”

December 14, 2017, 7:55 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

WSJ: Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) says the chamber’s parliamentarian has blocked a proposal to let churches and charities engage in partisan politics, keeping it out of the final tax bill set to be unveiled Friday. The repeal of… Continue reading

“A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations”

December 11, 2017, 12:05 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Steven Sholk has published an updated version of his very useful publication. Depending on what happens with the tax bill, he may have to write a whole new guide in January.

Must-Read Ellen Aprill NYT Oped: “Leave the Johnson Amendment Alone”

December 10, 2017, 7:51 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen in the NYT: Contributions to charities are deductible; contributions to PACs and section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations are not. Because charities can have enormous influence on political campaigns with very little expense, many who wish to intervene in political… Continue reading

“Congress could hardwire dark money into our democracy”

December 4, 2017, 1:09 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy oped.

“The Dark Money Subsidy? Tax Policy and Donations to 501(c)(4) Organizations”

December 4, 2017, 10:54 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Brian Galle has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article presents the first empirical examination of giving to § 501(c)(4) organizations, which have recently become central players in U.S. politics. Although donations to a 501(c)(4) are… Continue reading

“Amending the Johnson Amendment in the Age of Cheap Speech”

November 27, 2017, 8:01 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill has posted this important draft on SSRN (forthcoming University of Illinois Law Review On-Line). Here is the abstract: On November 2, 2017, the House Ways and Means Committee released its proposed tax reform legislation. It includes a provision… Continue reading

“Blowing Up Democracy and Charities in One Fell Swoop”

November 27, 2017, 7:06 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Eliza Newlin Carney: By essentially repealing the so-called Johnson Amendment, a tax provision that bars charities from engaging in partisan politics, the House legislation frees up big donors to funnel even more unlimited, undisclosed money into campaigns, and, for the… Continue reading

“In Tax Debate, Gift to Religious Right Could Be Bargaining Chip”

November 26, 2017, 6:32 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: Among the changes in the tax bill that passed the House this month is a provision to roll back the 1954 ban, a move that is championed by the religious right, but opposed by thousands of religious and nonprofit… Continue reading

“The House Tax Bill Could Be the End of Charities as We Know Them”

November 19, 2017, 4:00 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Roger Colinvaux: If the tax bill passed by the House Ways and Means Committee becomes law, partisan politics would overtake the nonprofit world, casting institutions designed to promote the public good into the depraved den of identity politics and selfish… Continue reading

“GOP Tax Bill Would Allow Politics from the Pulpit”

November 2, 2017, 5:10 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Kate Ackley for Roll Call: The House Republican tax plan would upend a longstanding measure, known as the Johnson Amendment, that prohibits politicking from the pulpit, and critics say it could turn churches into new conduits for political money. Under… Continue reading

“Justice Department Settles With Tea Party Groups After I.R.S. Scrutiny”

October 26, 2017, 8:56 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: The Justice Department settled two lawsuits with conservative groups that claimed the Internal Revenue Service had unfairly scrutinized them during applications for tax-exempt status, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Thursday. The government agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement to… Continue reading