Why Congress’s Move to Delay the IRS Muzzle Rule Another Year Is Not All Good News
Posted by on July 29, 2016 at 10:29 AM
The draft of the House of Representatives’ financial-services appropriations bill contains language very similar to what was passed last year to defund the IRS from implementing the nonprofit muzzle rule. If enforced, the rule would harm the nonprofit community by curtailing their First Amendment right to speech and creating legal exposure for accidentally violating these new draconian limits.
It’s well and good that the IRS will be prohibited another year from carrying out this rule, but unfortunately this bill leaves the door open for the IRS to move forward with their mandate the following year. Nobody knows which party will control the White House or either chamber of Congress next year, and party leadership might change as well.
So, if Congress is willing to pass legislation that prohibits the nonprofit muzzle rule for another year, and the president is willing to sign it, then why limit it to just one year?
The House clearly has no problem with legislating in appropriations bills. Section 107, for example, reads: “None of the funds made available under this or any other Act may be used by the Internal Revenue Service to target citizens of the United States for exercising any right guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
So why does Section 127 of the bill, defunding the IRS’s nonprofit muzzle rule, need to be qualified by saying: “During fiscal year 2017…”
It doesn’t.
Leaving open the possibility of the IRS proceeding to implement the rule next year means nonprofit groups and civil society still face the risk of having their free-speech rights denied down the road.
It is unfortunate that Congress did not take the opportunity in this bill to resolve the matter once and for all and prevent the IRS from continuing to threaten the speech of our nonprofit community.
The issue will remain unresolved in perpetuity until Congress prohibits the rule for good. Nobody knows who our next president, our next IRS commissioner, or our next House speaker and Senate majority leader will be. Until Congress closes the matter, the issue remains unsettled, regardless of temporary prohibitions.
Help pressure our representatives into doing what is right on this issue by joining the Tax Revolution Institute’s First Amendment Alliance. The clock is still ticking.
Adam de Angeli
Guest Contributor
Adam de Angeli has worked as a legislative assistant in Congress and a state legislature, and has worked on state, federal, and presidential campaigns for liberty candidates and causes. Adam founded Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan and led a successful effort to defeat a statewide tax hike proposal by the largest margin in state history, more than 4 to 1. Adam is also an expert software developer and database manager for political organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.