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The Trump administration will end a long-standing requirement that some non-profit organizations disclose the names of their major donors to the Internal Revenue Service, a move that will allow some political groups to protect their sources of funding from government scrutiny. The change, long sought after by conservatives and Republicans in Congress, will affect unions, social clubs and, most importantly, many political groups like the National Rifle Association and Americans for Prosperity of the Koch Network, which bring together what is known as the name of 'dark l & # 39; money. "
Treasury officials said that the change of ratio would protect privacy and reduce compliance costs for non-profit organizations, and that the IRS could still request information about donors to groups in the rare cases where this would be necessary for a tax audit.
"Americans should not be required to send the IRS the information that it does not need to effectively enforce our tax laws, and the I.R.S. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, said in a statement Monday night
but critics have denounced the measure, saying it increases the likelihood of "There is a lot to this administrative rule under the law." appearance of reducing red tape, "said Steven Rosenthal, at the Washington Center for Non-Partisan Tax Policy. "This adds another layer of opacity to tax-exempt financing."
Nonprofit political organizations will still have to collect information, but they will not be required to remit it to the government unless they are verified.
Non-profit organizations such as unions and organizations classified as 501 (c) (4) groups were required to report to the government the names of donors who contributed more than $ 5,000 in the space of 39, a year. This information was written on the publicly visible forms that groups file each year, although donations remain visible.
Not-for-profit organizations that primarily influence political campaigns, including 501 (c) (3) and 527 organizations, will still be required to report the names of major donors, as well as charities that accept contributions. tax deductible.
Treasury Department officials stated that this decision was motivated in part by the inappropriate targeting of political groups by the IRS. administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Theirs. the Inspector General concluded that the two groups conservative and progressive were targeted and that I.R.S. The authorities have also expressed concern that donor information may fall into the wrong hands and be released for partisan reasons. reporting such information increases compliance costs for some private parties, consumes the IRS There are a large number of examples of inadvertent disclosure of donor information from federal forms over the course of time. last years
. . In 2013, the I.R.S. posted a list of donors to a branch of the Association of Republican Governors. In 2016, a federal judge cited a model of such disclosures in opposing the claim of American & # 39; s Prosperity on behalf of the state of California.
The ruling noted that the state had published more than 1,700 lists of confidential donors on the Internet, including the names and addresses of hundreds of donors to Planned Parenthood.
The elimination of the rule will limit the data that the government collects, but will not affect the public disclosure: The IRS will now be able to see lists of major donors from these groups only if this specifically asked them. The public was not able to see these lists under the existing rules unless the government inadvertently disclosed them.
Republicans welcomed this decision, with Mitch McConnell, the leader of the senatorial majority, describing Tuesday this decision as "particularly welcome". We who are resolutely focused on the defense of the First Amendment, for those of us who over the years have raised concerns during the last administration about activist regulators who punish freedom of expression and the free association. It's a simple decision of principle and common sense. "
The Texas Representative, Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady, similarly said that it would prevent the political targeting of organizations
.Means Committee fought for an IRS M Brady said:
But Democrats blasted the movement en masse, with Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, and Sen. Jon Tester, the Montana Democrat, called the decision "a decision the darker, darker and dirtiest "
According to guidelines, the agency did not need personally identifiable information about donors' responsibilities. "
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