Johnson Amendment vital to nonprofit trust

It is important for readers to know that the U.S. House followed the IRS in exacerbating the “dark money” issue in our politics (Many political tax-exempts no longer required to report donors, July 16, 2018). This week, the House passed a version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill that contains a policy rider that weakens enforcement of the Johnson Amendment. The Johnson Amendment is a critical protection in the IRS tax code that keeps tax-exempt charitable, religious, and philanthropic organizations nonpartisan and ensures that tax-deductible charitable resources will not be used for partisan political purposes. This keeps nonprofits trusted in their communities and focused on their missions.

The rider specifically prevents the IRS from taking action against tax-exempt houses of worship that engage in flagrantly partisan activities. Worse, the anti-Johnson Amendment rider gives savvy political donors a way to receive a tax deduction if they direct their political giving toward tax-deductible entities no longer subject to the prohibition on partisan politicking. Weakening the Johnson Amendment for one tax-exempt group weakens it for all of us. Uneven enforcement of the Johnson Amendment will harm the public’s trust in the nonprofit sector because it allows one type of nonprofit group to use resources for partisan politics.

Now that the bill is in the Senate, I encourage Senators Murray and Cantwell to support Washington State’s nonprofits by working to remove the anti-Johnson Amendment rider form the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill.