Category Archives: tax law and election law

“Justices Urged to Nix Donor Disclosure Law”

January 6, 2020, 2:11 pmcampaign finance, election law and constitutional law, tax law and election lawJustin Levitt

Bloomberg: An unusually large number of amicus briefs filed by friends of a charity tied to the Koch brothers have flooded the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the justices to nix a California law requiring charities to disclose their largest… Continue reading

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

December 11, 2019, 3:28 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Steven Sholk: I am pleased to announce that an updated version of my article, A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations, has been published by Practising Law Institute as part of its 2019 Course Handbook for the… Continue reading

“Defining ‘political activity’ for the internet: Learning from the IRS”

December 9, 2019, 3:58 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill oped in The Hill.

“Democratic Strategists Set Up $75 Million Digital Campaign to Counter Trump”

November 4, 2019, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: A progressive organization is plunging itself into the presidential campaign, unveiling plans to spend $75 million on digital advertising to counter President Trump’s early spending advantage in key 2020 battleground states.The effort, by a nonprofit group called Acronym and… Continue reading

“CREW Exposes Dark Money Donors including Thiel, DeVos and Adelson”

October 25, 2019, 5:12 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CREW: Following a historic victory against dark money by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Americans for Job Security (AJS) has released its donors from 2010 through 2012, including major contributions from Peter Thiel, Richard and Helen DeVos,… Continue reading

“Wealth, philanthropy and politics — considering ‘wealth tax’ proposals”

October 16, 2019, 4:45 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill oped: The impact of private wealth on public policy through tax-exempt organizations has garnered much attention of late, with recent scandals involving the Sacklers, Jeffrey Epstein, and a number of prestigious universities. Recent critiques, however, fail to… Continue reading

“Can a 501c3 Advocate for Impeachment of a Federal Office Holder?”

October 8, 2019, 8:40 amcampaigns, lobbying, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Timely exploration by Tim Mooney at NPQ.

Aprill: “A Tax Lesson for Election Law”

October 7, 2019, 7:52 amcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill has an important new piece at Tax Notes building off the Price for Congress request for an advisory opinion, and lucky for us you can get it from behind the paywall: An August 22 deadlock by the Federal… Continue reading

“Koch-Linked Nonprofit Must Disclose Donors, Settlement Mandates”

September 20, 2019, 3:16 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg: A nonprofit linked to the conservative Koch organization that spent more than $20 million to elect Republican congressional candidates must disclose its donors, according to a settlement with the Federal Election Commission.The now-defunct Americans for Job Security (AJS), said … Continue reading

Lots of Election Law/Non-Profit Tax Law Issues Raised in Major Jerry Falwell Jr. Expose in Politico

September 9, 2019, 7:37 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Quite a read. In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2014 and 2015, Michael Cohen hired Gauger’s side business, RedFinch LLC, to rig online polls in Donald Trump’s favor while he considered a run for the presidency. Gauger’s… Continue reading

FEC Deadlocks Over Advisory Opinion on Tom Price Attempt to Transfer Congressional Funds to Political 501(c)(4)

August 22, 2019, 1:08 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

FEC: August 22, 2019On August 22, 2019, the Commission considered an advisory opinion request (AOR) from Price for Congress, the principal campaign committee of former Rep. Dr. Thomas Price. The request asked if the committee could contribute funds to… Continue reading

Four Separate Draft Advisory Opinions Signals Potential Deadlock at FEC on Tom Price Plan to Use Campaign Funds for 501c(4) Electioneering

August 17, 2019, 6:30 pmcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

See here. If the FEC deadlocks, Price will have to decide whether to go forward with his plan and risk liability for doing so. But given how lax FEC enforcement is these days, it is not clear how much… Continue reading