Among the foremost threats to individual freedom in America is the abusive and oftentimes lawless behavior…
CFIF on Twitter CFIF on YouTube
More Legal Shenanigans from the Biden Administration’s Department of Education

Among the foremost threats to individual freedom in America is the abusive and oftentimes lawless behavior of federal administrative agencies, whose vast armies of overpaid bureaucrats remain unaccountable for their excesses.

Among the most familiar examples of that bureaucratic abuse is the Department of Education (DOE).  Recall, for instance, the United States Supreme Court’s humiliating rebuke last year of the Biden DOE’s effort to shift hundreds of billions of dollars of student debt from the people who actually owed them onto the backs of American taxpayers.

Even now, despite that rebuke, the Biden DOE launched an alternative scheme last month in an end-around effort to achieve that same result.

Well, the Biden DOE is now attempting to shift tens of millions of dollars of…[more]

March 19, 2024 • 08:35 AM

Liberty Update

CFIFs latest news, commentary and alerts delivered to your inbox.
CFIF Praises Treasury Department/IRS Rule Protecting Donor Privacy Print
By CFIF Staff
Wednesday, May 27 2020

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released final regulations relieving certain not-for-profit organizations of the requirement to provide the names and addresses of donors on the Schedule B form as part of their annual tax returns filed with the IRS.

In response, Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) president Jeffrey Mazzella issued the following statement praising the decision: 

“CFIF enthusiastically applauds the Trump Administration for finally accomplishing this critical measure to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights.  Furthermore, we thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – Kentucky), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R - Louisiana) and Congressman Kevin Brady (R – Texas), among other members of Congress, for their leadership and commitment on this important issue.

"As Americans have become all too aware, assaults against our First Amendment freedoms of speech and association by government officials have increased in recent years. For example, rogue IRS officials in the mold of Lois Lerner have collected and leaked private information regarding contributors to 501(c) nonprofit organizations contained in mandatory Schedule B forms that by law were to remain confidential.  Additionally, vindictive state officials have demanded Schedule B forms and confidential donor information. 

"For its part, the IRS acknowledged that Schedule B information is irrelevant to oversight of filings or enforcement of the tax code, thus serving no substantive legal purpose.  Previous IRS Commissioners and others have also questioned the need for Schedule B forms and admitted that the IRS can't guarantee confidentiality of the information contained in them.  That’s simply intolerable in this era of persecution of private citizens for their political beliefs. 

“We at CFIF commend the Treasury Department and IRS for finally eliminating the requirement to disclose the names and addresses of donors on the Schedule B for many nonprofit organizations." 

CFIF has for years spearheaded a broad coalition effort to eliminate the Schedule B requirement, including filing formal comments in support of the rulemaking.

###

Notable Quote   
 
"Americans do not trust several major U.S. institutions, including the national news media.The recently released Center Square Voters' Voice poll found that 43% of Americans say the media is trustworthy, compared with 54% who said it is not trustworthy.Younger people were more likely to trust the media, with 47% of those ages 18-34 saying they trust it and 46% saying the opposite.The numbers steadily…[more]
 
 
— Casey Harper, The Center Square
 
Liberty Poll   

Do you believe the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately reject the new Biden administration automobile emissions rule as beyond the scope of administrative agency authority?