IRS Revokes Dark Money Group Americans for Job Security’s Tax Exempt Status
This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it revoked the dark money group Americans for Job Security’s tax exempt status. The announcement followed a complaint from Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Issue One against the organization.
Americans for Job Security was a tax-exempt “business league” that spent tens of millions of dollars influencing elections while keeping its donors secret, but failed to file its tax returns for the past three years. CLC and Issue One’s complaint called on the agency to enforce penalties against Americans for Job Security for failing to file multiple years of mandatory returns.
“For years, Americans for Job Security abused its tax-exempt status to allow donors to secretly influence elections,” said Brendan Fischer, director, federal reform program at CLC. “Although the IRS penalized Americans for Job Security for failing to file its tax returns, rather than for operating as a dark money political committee, it is gratifying to see that there are at least some consequences for groups that evade transparency requirements.”