The Buckeye Institute Joins Coalition of Voices Calling for Protection of Taxpayers and Free Speech
May 16, 2018Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute joined a coalition of more than 60 organizations calling on President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to protect taxpayers and their First Amendment rights to confidentially give to charitable organizations without the fear of intimidation (Read the letter here).
“As Americans, we all have a First Amendment right to join, support, and speak through organizations without being put on a government list, and it is unfortunate that Congress has not acted to protect these rights,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “While a permanent legislative fix is what is needed, Congressional inaction has made it necessary to look to the Trump Administration to end the practice of collecting information on the charitable giving of private citizens.”
The letter followed similar letters sent to Congress in February 2018 and November 2017, and was a result of Congressional inaction on this critical issue. As the coalition said, “In the absence of legislation, the IRS can and should initiate a rulemaking to eliminate the Schedule B requirement, thereby preventing IRS officials and activist state attorneys general from exploiting the confidential information to target groups and individual Americans with whom they politically disagree.”
The coalition is calling for the elimination of the 990 Schedule B form requirement for 501(c) organizations, which is a mandatory IRS form that lists names and addresses of donors who give to private charities and other 501(c) organizations. Although the IRS is legally prohibited from using the information collected, the retention of this information, as the letter highlights, has resulted in intimidation and harassment of donors.
# # #