Tax Policy Center

Citizens United

Business Taxes: TaxVox

Could Congress Actually Crack Down On Tax Exempt Political Organizations?

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman David Schweikert (R-AZ) announced they are looking into political abuses by non-profit...
August 16, 2023Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The Public Wants Clear Rules About Campaign Giving Through Tax-Exempts. Is It Possible?

A poll released today by the conservative Hudson Institute and the liberal group Public Citizen finds that nearly 9 in 10 voters surveyed favor clear rules that define political activities by non-profit tax-exempt organizations. The public’s desire for clarity is not surprising, given the amount of
September 30, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The Real IRS Flap Is About Dark Money, Not Emails

Don’t get distracted by the political theater over lost IRS emails. There is little new about headline-seeking politicians berating IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. Like most of what happens in Congress these days, these second-rate star chambers do little more than create cable TV sound bites and
June 24, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Obama Will Try to Clarify the Role of Tax-Exempt Groups in Politics

The Obama Administration is trying to untangle the controversy over the growing role of 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations in politics by creating a new category...
November 26, 2013Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Do Campaign Finance Middle-Men Deserve Tax-exempt Status?

Thanks to the campaign watchdog organization Center for Responsive Politics and National Public Radio, we’ve learned more about the tactics of some political organizations that...
November 5, 2013Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Get IRS Out of the Business of Regulating Political Speech

A final thought, I hope, on the IRS/tea party scandal: Why do we want the IRS regulating political speech? It seems crazy on its face,...
May 16, 2013Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The IRS and the Tea Party: Treasury Report Finds Big Bungling but Small Scandal

The IRS’s botched processing of requests for tax-exempt status by political groups isn’t the new Watergate. In fact, as scandals go, it is barely the...
May 15, 2013Howard Gleckman