Proposed Rule On Campaign Donations Promises To Reignite IRS Scandal Fight

Proposed rules change first solution offered by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in May analysis of IRS crisis.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

In the wake of the Internal Revenue Service scandal, in which several organizations seeking code section 501(c)(4) distinction were discriminated against based on the groups’ political identity, the Obama administration has moved to tighten the IRS’s social-welfare definition to exclude political candidate campaigning. Under new guidelines

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New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove’s Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said

GOP strategist Karl Rove’s dark money tax return specified grants would be used for social welfare but most went to political activities.

Kim Barker
By Kim Barker

On its 2012 tax return, GOP strategist Karl Rove’s dark money behemoth Crossroads GPS justified its status as a tax-exempt social welfare group in part by citing its grants of $35 million to other similarly aligned nonprofits. (Here’s the tax return itself, which we detailed last week.) The return, signed under penalty of perjury,specified that

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Colorado Recall Drives Reveal Influence Of ‘Dark Money’ On Local Politics

The post-Citizens United world of campaign finance is exploding the local/national distinction — to the detriment of locals.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

In Colorado, the future of municipal and state elections in the United States is being decided. In the current recall efforts of two Colorado state senators lie the question of the sanctity of local politics and the role of money in the American political system. Gun rights advocates, enraged by a sweeping set of gun control laws passed by the

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