|
|
Trump Admin makes it harder to track political contributions
|
|
|
|
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status:
Offline
|
|
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/u...se-donors.html
The Trump administration will end a longstanding requirement that certain nonprofit organizations disclose the names of large donors to the Internal Revenue Service, a move that will allow some political groups to shield their sources of funding from government scrutiny.
The change, which has long been sought by conservatives and Republicans in Congress, will affect thousands of labor unions, social clubs and political groups as varied as arms of the AARP, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association and Americans for Prosperity, which is funded partly by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.
Treasury officials said the reporting change — which affects contributions known as dark money because their source is hidden — would protect privacy and reduce compliance costs for nonprofit organizations. The I.R.S. could still request donor information from groups in the rare event that it was needed for tax scrutiny.
But critics denounced the measure, saying it would encourage political donations from both domestic and foreign contributors who want to skirt the law or keep their influence secret.
“It’s a clear signal that the I.R.S. and now the Treasury Department are not interested in any significant oversight of nonprofits,” said Marcus S. Owens, a Washington lawyer and former director of the I.R.S. division for tax-exempt organizations. “What they’re doing is excusing them from filing information that is of material importance for determining whether organizations are operating appropriately and within the boundaries of the rules.”
Conservative groups and donors had been lobbying the Trump administration to make the change, partly by arguing that the reporting requirement made their funders vulnerable to exposure by the I.R.S. and state regulators.
“Transparency is meant for the government, not for private individuals,” said Philip Ellender, the head lobbyist for Koch Industries, the international conglomerate owned by the Koch brothers. Koch Industries began lobbying the White House on the issue after President Trump’s election, according to lobbying filings.
Transparency is for politics.
The I.R.S. will now be able to see those groups’ lists of big donors only if it specifically requests them. Those lists are not open to the public under existing rules.
This enable partisan enforcement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status:
Offline
|
|
Swing and a miss.
Worth noting they did this the day after the NRA lady got arrested.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Rules
|
|
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|