Palmetto Promise Joins Amicus to Defend Nonprofits from IRS Overreach

State Policy Network filed an amicus brief with more than 30 organizations (including Palmetto Promise Institute) in support of The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service—a case challenging a decades-old federal law that forces nonprofits to hand over the names and addresses of their largest donors to the IRS each year.

The brief argues that nonprofits have a First Amendment right to keep their donors private. Forced disclosure discourages people from supporting causes they believe in and can expose them to harassment.

It explains that even when the government ties disclosure to a benefit like tax-exempt status, the rule must still meet “exacting scrutiny”—a standard the IRS’s donor-disclosure requirement does not satisfy because it is neither narrowly tailored nor supported by a sufficiently important interest.

Christopher Dauer, President and CEO of State Policy Network, noted:

“The freedom to associate lies at the foundation of a free society—and is at the core of America’s constitutional system. The IRS’ demand for The Buckeye Institute’s donor lists is an assault on philanthropic freedom and the First Amendment. The IRS’ tactics carry echoes of Jim Crow-era forced donor disclosure tactics that the NAACP fought against over six decades ago. It was wrong then and it’s wrong today.

Nonprofit organizations—and the millions of generous Americans who support them—are vital to a healthy civil society, and protecting their ability to privately associate is essential to preserving that role. As this brief demonstrates, the IRS’ disclosure requirements are unconstitutional and would undermine the ability of Americans to support the organizations and issues they care about.”

Read the amicus brief here.

Learn more about The Buckeye Institute’s case, The Buckeye Institute vs. Internal Revenue Service, here.