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Stop Trump From Weaponizing the IRS Against Nonprofits
Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly preparing to turn the IRS against nonprofit organizations it sees as political enemies.
Senators Wyden and Warnock just opened a formal investigation into reports that Treasury officials are developing a plan to subject left-leaning nonprofits to heightened IRS scrutiny and potentially threaten their tax-exempt status. Lawmakers also introduced the PROOF Act to put new protections in place before political retaliation becomes government policy.
But we need to build public pressure on the rest of Congress to act now — before Trump can use the tax code to intimidate critics, cripple advocacy groups, scare off donors, and punish organizations for speaking out.
The IRS has enormous power. For charitable nonprofits, losing tax-exempt status can mean losing the tax deduction that encourages supporters to give. It can jeopardize grants and other funding, scare off major donors, and drain organizations of the resources they need to survive.
That means political targeting by the IRS could financially cripple civil rights organizations, watchdogs, environmental groups, charities, and advocacy organizations simply because they challenge the people in power.
This is bigger than one party or one movement. No president should be able to use federal tax enforcement to punish lawful critics or financially silence independent organizations.
Congress must publicly expose the truth about Trump's effort to target nonprofits because of their political views. And we must ensure they pass legislation to stop it now.
We cannot wait for an enemies list to become an audit list.
Thanks for all that you do,
Matt from the Swarm
