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IRS and Political Speech: The Tax Collection Agency Should Not Police Speech
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Groups seeking tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization must apply to the IRS to obtain this classification. Advocacy nonprofits, designated by a 501(c)(4) status, are one such classification of tax-exempt organizations that are permitted to engage in some political activities, so long as the majority of their activities are not political. As the Tea Party movement gained its footing in…

Recommendations to the IRS on the Johnson Amendment
June 3, 2025   •  By David Keating & Owen Yeates   •  ,

On May 30, 2025, the Institute for Free Speech responded to an invitation for public recommendations for the Department of the Treasury and the ...

Comments on the Political Activities of Tax Exempt Organizations
September 7, 2023   •  By David Keating   •  ,

On September 4, 2023, the Institute for Free Speech submitted comments to the Ways and Means Committee

Government Takes Cues from Leftist SPLC To Bully Opponents Like Moms For Liberty
July 13, 2023   •  By Tiffany Donnelly   •  ,

Anyone who cares about free speech should ignore characterizations that make routine political disagreements seem ‘dangerous’ and worthy of government attention.

The IRS still plays political speech police
May 31, 2023   •  By Brad Smith   •  , , ,

This month marked the 10th anniversary of the Tea Party scandal: The first public admission by then-Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner that the IRS had ...

Bradley A. Smith Highlights Critical Importance of Free Political Speech at Committee on House Administration Hearing
May 11, 2023   •  By IFS Staff   •  , , ,

Institute for Free Speech Chairman and Founder Bradley A. Smith discussed the fundamental importance of safeguarding Americans’ ability to speak freely at a House ...

The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service
December 5, 2022   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit challenging a decades-old tax law that forces the IRS to demand that nonprofit charities hand over the private ...

Congress Must Prevent the Tax Code from Being Weaponized as a Speech Code
November 18, 2022   •  By Alex Baiocco   •  ,

Elected officials are turning to tax laws in an effort to punish or restrict speech. At the same time, provisions omitted from the latest ...

California Gunowner Data Leak Makes the Case (Again) for Donor Privacy
July 7, 2022   •  By Tiffany Donnelly   •  , , , ,

In Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the district court made factual findings that leaks were commonplace and the State’s security protocols for maintaining the confidentiality ...

Questions for the Record – Hearing on “Laws and Enforcement Governing the Political Activities of Tax Exempt Entities.”
July 5, 2022   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

The Biden Administration recently announced that it is setting up a “Disinformation Governance Board” within the Department of Homeland Security. As an expert on free ...

Testimony of Mr. Gary M. Lawkowski Before the House Committee on House Administration, Subcommittee on Elections
June 22, 2022   •  By Gary Lawkowski   •  , ,

Disinformation is a bit like driving.  We all think we are good at identifying what is true and what is not, and that the ...

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