Accounting Today - Tea Party Groups Reject Expedited Review of Tax-Exempt Applications

By Michael Cohn, Accountingtoday.com

The American Center for Law and Justice, which has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 41 Tea Party and other conservative groups that claim to have been unlawfully targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, said Wednesday it is rejecting the government's offer for "expedited review" of applications for some conservative groups that have been waiting for years for a determination on their tax-exempt status, calling the offer “deeply flawed.”

Last month, the IRS offered to expedite the application process for organizations seeking 501(c)(4) status by creating a 60/40 standard that would grant tax exemptions to organizations that agree to devote 60 percent or more of their time and expenditures on activities to promote social welfare, and 40 percent or less on political activity (see IRS Outlines Steps to Fix Problems with Tax-Exempt Applications).

The ACLJ contended that the 60/40 ratio created by the IRS is not a legal standard defined by applicable statutes or regulations. . . .

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