[EL] why seek c4 recognition?

Tue May 14 13:02:51 PDT 2013

No, Mark, a group is a c4 organization if it operates as one.  It is  not 
necessary to get approval.  Jim Bopp

In a message dated 5/14/2013 3:48:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
Mark.Scarberry at pepperdine.edu writes:

I thought there was a serious argument (though it seemed wrong to me)  that 
contributions to such groups would be taxable income to them absent  (c)(4) 
status. Is it not necessary for a group to get approval from IRS to  avoid 
a claim that they have taxable income? 

Mark Scarberry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G  LTE Smartphone

-------- Original message  --------
From: JBoppjr at aol.com 
Date: 05/14/2013 12:21 PM (GMT-08:00)  
To: bkingsley at harmoncurran.com,rhasen at law.uci.edu,law-election at uci.edu  
Subject: Re: [EL] why seek c4 recognition? 

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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