January 10, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
In response to a recent proposal by the Federal Election Commission, the IRS has reiterated its view that charities that include links to partisan materials on their Web sites could face tax penalties.
The FEC recently proposed that labor unions and corporations, including incorporated nonprofit groups, be allowed to provide hypertext links to candidates’ Web sites or to news releases that endorse candidates without running afoul of election laws.
But Mary E. Oppenheimer, an IRS assistant chief counsel, warned in a letter to the commission that the IRS might consider such links to constitute endorsement of a political candidate or “intervention in a political campaign,” both of which are activities in which organizations classified as charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code may not engage. By law, charities may not explicitly endorse a political candidate and must refrain from “intervening” in any political campaign by publishing or distributing statements for or against a candidate for public office.
Ms. Oppenheimer said there could be circumstances in which a charity could provide links to candidate sites, but only if the links were consistent with an organization’s tax-exempt purpose. She did not provide an example, saying only that the IRS would determine whether a charity met that test based on the facts of each case.
