Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, May 23, 2014
IRS Holds Off -- for Now -- on Rules to Restrict Political Groups
By Heritage Foundation @ 10:25 AM :: 6775 Views :: First Amendment, Taxes, TEA Party

IRS Holds Off -- for Now -- on Rules to Restrict Political Groups

by Amy Payne, Heritage Foundation, May 23, 2014

President Barack Obama gives remarks on "Jobs, Energy Independence and Climate Change" in the East Room of the White House in 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chuck Kennedy/MCT) (Photo: Chuck Kennedy/MCT)

Any day that the Obama administration halts its regulatory overreach is a good day – even if it won’t last forever.

Yesterday, the IRS announced it would hold off until next year on new rules that would have restricted the activities of nonprofit groups. The administration had been working on thesebehind the scenes since last year. But after the agency’s targeting of conservative groups – based on their ideological leanings – came to light, it caused an uproar.

Heritage legal expert Hans von Spakovsky told The Foundry:

The announcement by the IRS that it intends to rethink its proposed rules on political activity by advocacy organizations is welcome news. These rules would have severely restricted their First Amendment rights and violated Supreme Court precedent. They were an attempt to implement the “inappropriate criteria” disgraced IRS official Lois Lerner used to target tea party and other conservative organizations.

It’s at least somewhat refreshing that the agency paid attention to a massive outpouring of criticism. Von Spakovsky had noted recently:

By February 27, 2014, the deadline for public comments, the IRS had received more than 150,000 comments—the vast majority of them negative—which is a record number for an IRS rulemaking. In fact, according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, this was more than double the number of public comments that the Treasury Department and the IRS had received for all of their “draft proposals over the last seven years.”

Why were people so up in arms? As von Spakovsky said, these rules would institutionalize the types of practices the IRS had been using to target organizations inappropriately – which were violating Americans’ First Amendment rights. True to the administration’s pattern, the rules would have gone beyond the IRS’s authority, as well.

“The IRS should not attempt to regulate in areas beyond its expertise and authority,” von Spakovsky said in his analysis of the proposed rules, noting that the agency “is ill-equipped to take on the role of political arbiter that it seems so eager to assume.”

But be warned: IRS officials said their rewrite is “certainly is not starting over and certainly not starting from scratch,” reports Politico. The new proposal should come out next year, and Americans will have to be ready to defend their freedoms – again.

Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.

Quick Hits:

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT