“US Senator Lamar Alexander today announced he is a cosponsor of legislation that would delay until February of 2017 the Internal Revenue Service’s plans to issue new regulations that could define candidate-related political activities of tax-exempt social welfare organizations, regulations Alexander says are so broad they limit free speech,” the statement read.
In November 2013, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed Guidance for Tax-Exempt Social Welfare Organizations, which amends existing regulations for groups that are considered “social welfare” organizations and defines the term “candidate-related political activity.” Politically active nonprofit groups might, therefore, be forced to pay taxes and will have less funds available for says such activities as preparing voter guides, holding voter registration drives or running ads that mention candidates close to Election Day.
Alexander has previously stated that the government wants to deprive conservative organizations, such as Tea Party groups, of their tax-exempt status, because of what they say or believe in.
“The IRS created an enemies list when it targeted conservative groups in Tennessee and around the country for extra scrutiny, and now it is yet again threatening the First Amendment rights of the American people with these broad regulations,” Alexander said in Thursday statement. “With a new Republican majority in Congress, I hope we can finally put an end to the IRS’s abuse of Americans’ constitutional right to speak up and speak out, and work to restore their trust in the federal government.”
In May 2014 the IRS announced it would reconsider proposed regulations after the introduction of “The Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015” and “The IRS Abuse Protection Act.” The IRS reported receiving more than 150,000 comments on these regulations, according to the press release.
