IRS Rules on Politicking Draw Complaints
July 18, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
As the 2006 elections near, the Internal Revenue Service is stepping up its efforts to warn charities that political campaigning could threaten their tax-exempt status, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The IRS has also vowed to be more aggressive in pursuing allegations of illegal politicking.
But a Washington watchdog group last week issued a report that said the IRS’s enforcement efforts could damage the ability of charities to speak out about important public issues.
The report, by OMB Watch, said the IRS has not developed clear guidelines explaining when it will step in to investigate. The report predicted that as a result, the IRS would be inundated with complaints designed largely to harass charities, rather than to deal with substantive violations of the law.
The IRS dismissed the concerns in the report, saying its efforts are all aimed at enforcing the law.
