IRS: CLC & Democracy 21 Send Further Evidence to IRS that Groups Seeking to Influence Elections are Wrongly Claiming 501(c)(4) Status

The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 sent a letter today to the Honorable Douglas H. Shulman, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and to Lois Lerner, Director of the Exempt Organizations Division.

The letter states:

Enclosed is a report published by ProPublica on August 19, 2012, entitled, "How Nonprofits Spend Millions on Elections and Call it Public Welfare."  According to the report:

An investigation by ProPublica, drawing on documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission, offers the most detailed picture to date of how 501(c)(4) groups have used their tax status for purposes likely never intended.

Our examination shows that dozens of these groups do little or nothing to justify the subsidies they receive from taxpayers.  Instead, they are pouring much of their resources, directly or indirectly, into political races at the local, state and federal level.

We believe the report further documents the case we have made in a series of letters to the IRS that certain groups are improperly claiming Section 501(c)(4) status and that new regulations are needed to properly define the eligibility requirements for Section 501(c)(4) status.

To read the full letter, click here.

To read the full Pro Publica Report, click here.