The people’s voice has been heard! Overwhelmed with comments about a proposed regulation limiting the free speech of many non-profit organizations, the IRS is backing down – for now.
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen announced at the National Press Club on Tuesday, that the IRS has postponed a proposed rule change that would have banned all political speech in 501(c)(4) groups. The IRS received more than 150,000 citizen comments, far more than on any previous proposed rule change.
Senator Ted Cruz celebrated the victory:
When Americans speak up, it makes a difference. A record number of Americans spoke out against a regulation being considered by the IRS to stifle free speech of 501(c)(4) political groups. As a result, it is unlikely those rules will be implemented this year. This is a substantial victory for the grassroots and should serve as motivation to continue pressuring the IRS to drop the rule completely.
However, Koskinen was careful to mention that “It’s going to take us a while to sort through all those comments” and come up with a revision (emphasis ours). This will not surprise many conservative groups who were targeted for extra scrutiny by the IRS – they know the IRS can indeed “take a while” when responding to requests.
View footage from Koskinen’s report here: