April 20, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
TAX WATCHBy Elizabeth Schwinn
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has been the subject of a federal tax investigation for a year and a half, wants the government to either proceed quickly with its audit of the civil-rights organization — or drop it entirely.
The NAACP says that more than a year has passed since it was last contacted by the Internal Revenue Service, which began investigating the group in October 2004 over concerns that a speech by Julian Bond, the organization’s chairman, might have violated the government’s ban on politicking by charities. The speech contained criticisms of President Bush’s policies and was made several months before Election Day.
Under federal law, charities may not support or oppose a candidate for public office. NAACP officials said Mr. Bond’s speech was not improper, because he was commenting on general issues affecting the nation, and criticized the IRS for starting its investigation just weeks before voters went to the polls. Some members of Congress and nonprofit legal experts said the investigation would discourage nonprofit groups from criticizing the Bush administration’s policies (The Chronicle, February 17, 2005).
As long as the audit remains unresolved, charities will remain fearful of speaking freely, Dennis Courtland Hayes, the NAACP’s general counsel, said.
“The chilling effect of the IRS actions is profound, and the NAACP cannot stand by and allow our constitutional freedoms to be eroded,” he said.
The NAACP has sent the revenue service a check for $17.65, the amount it says it would owe if Mr. Bond’s speech were found to have violated tax laws, and asked for a refund.
The organization says it will sue if the IRS fails to respond to its refund request within six months.
As is its policy, the IRS said it could not comment on the NAACP’s case.
