[EL] why seek c4 recognition?

Tue May 14 12:19:53 PDT 2013

Beth is absolutely right, IMHO.  Jim Bopp

In a message dated 5/14/2013 12:04:43 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
bkingsley at harmoncurran.com writes:

For some  groups the question is why seek recognition, not why not. 

The form  takes time and energy to complete. If you don't know the lingo 
you risk saying  something that raises a red flag and triggers further 
scrutiny, so you'll  spend time and energy responding to further IRS inquiries. To 
avoid that you  can hire a lawyer and spend thousands on legal fees. Plus it 
costs $850 just  to file the application, for all but the very smallest 
groups. 

And  what are the benefits? If the IRS ever happens to audit your group, 
you can  rely on the determination to avoid retroactive revocation, provided 
there have  been no material changes in operations. If you're pretty 
confident where you  fit in the tax code, that benefit is pretty slim, and it can be 
easier just to  start operating. 

Many groups do file a 1024, and of course my  experience tends to be with 
those who decide to do so, since they've probably  come to me for help. There 
are some ancillary benefits -- being able to  provide assurances to funders 
and other supporters that you're operating  within the law, or in some 
cases eligibility for local tax exemption. But for  many the plusses are not 
worth the hassles. 

Beth

Elizabeth  Kingsley 
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP 
1726 M St., NW  
Suite 600 
Washington, DC 20036 
202-328-3500  
www.harmoncurran.com

-----Original  Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu  
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick  Hasen
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 11:50 AM
To:  law-election at UCI.edu
Subject: [EL] why seek c4 recognition?

Over on  Twitter the NYT's Nick Confessore is tweeting about the question 
why only  some groups seek c4 recognition status. Apparently the 
Democratic-oriented  Priorities USA has not.

Can someone shed some light on the reasons why  a group would not seek 
such recognition from the IRS and what the risks  are?

Thanks!

Rick

-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's  Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E.  Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 -  office
949.824.0495 -  fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org

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