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 commends 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.

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