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NTU Urges Passage of Fair Treatment of All Donations Act

APR. 15, 2015

NTU Urges Passage of Fair Treatment of All Donations Act

DATED APR. 15, 2015
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by Nan Swift

 

 

April 15, 2015

 

 

NTU urges all Representatives to vote "YES" on H.R. 1104, the "Fair Treatment of All Donations Act," which would ensure that donations to 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) organizations are not subject to the federal gift tax.

Since the enactment of the federal gift tax in 1932, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has arbitrarily applied the law to donations for tax-exempt organizations. The tax was temporarily applied to such contributions in the 1960s, but halted after several Circuit Courts of Appeal found that they were " . . . simply not 'gifts' within the meaning of the gift tax law." In 1982, the IRS re-instated application of the gift tax to many tax-exempt organizations, but did not enforce it until 2011 when the agency selectively conducted gift tax audits of targeted individuals who had made donations to a particular 501(c)(4) organization. Congressional inquiries again brought a halt to the audits, but left taxpayers with no further certainty as to how the tax will apply in the future.

The IRS has been marred by recent controversies in which, to many taxpayers' concern, the agency appears to have abused its powers for political ends. These instances include releasing confidential donor information of a tax-exempt organization, discriminating against certain political groups in the tax-exempt application process, and attempting to limit the activities of 501(c)(4) organizations. H.R. 1104 would help shield taxpayers from potential IRS overreach and ensure the Tax Code is uniformly applied.

Roll call votes on H.R. 1104 will be included in our annual Rating of Congress and a "Yes" vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.

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