Treasury Dept. Eases Donor Disclosure Rules For Some Tax-Exempt Groups

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill on February 14, 2018. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is lifting requirements for some tax-exempt groups to disclose the identities of their donors to federal tax authorities.

The change benefits groups that spend millions of dollars on political ads, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an organization tied to the billionaire Koch brothers.

Republicans accused the IRS during President Barack Obama’s tenure of liberal bias and unfair targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups. Now those groups figure among the organizations allowed to withhold names of their donors under the new IRS policy announced late Monday.

Treasury Department officials portrayed the changes as important free-speech and privacy protections for donors, while also preserving government transparency. But critics see the easing of disclosure requirements as opening the door to more dark money in political campaigns.

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Notable Replies

  1. Are they doing so retroactively, or is this for 2018 campaign donations?

  2. This opens the floodgates for massive, SECRET, reciprocal “donations” (payoffs) for their huge tax cut.
    It also opens the floodgates for massive, SECRET, FOREIGN DONATIONS.

    I’m sure the Saudi’s and Russians are quite happy now.

  3. Gotta keep the river of dirty Russian money flowing.

  4. “Of course we’re trying to rig the system to hide our misdeeds. Why do you ask, comrade? I mean friend?”

  5. A life raft for the NRA?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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