The Internal Revenue Service is working on new guidance for Section 501(c)(4) tax-exempt groups relating to the measurement of an organization’s primary activity and whether the organization operates primarily to promote social welfare, a Treasury Department official said.
The guidance would include information relating to political campaign intervention as well, Ruth Madrigal, attorney-adviser in the department’s office of tax policy, said. She referenced a May 14 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration on the treatment of Tea Party and other political groups, showing that the IRS has used inappropriate criteria when identifying groups for review of their applications for tax exemption.