May 23,2014

Press Contact:

Aaron Fobes/Julia Lawless (202) 224-4515

Hatch Calls IRS Decision on 501c4 Regulations a Step in the Right Direction

WASHINGTON – Today, Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released the following statement regarding the decision by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revise previously proposed rules regarding 501c4 organizations: 

“Today’s decision is a long overdue step in the right direction. The IRS is right to abandon its previously proposed rules governing 501c4 organizations that threatened free speech and the rights of all American citizens to participate in the democratic process.  I am glad the IRS heard the concerns of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and I will continue to advocate for an IRS that is independent and nonpartisan." 

In April, Hatch called on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen to put an end to the Obama Administration’s proposed regulation designed to stifle the free speech of groups that have criticized the White House in a letter with all Senate Finance Committee Republicans.  

In February, Hatch joined Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to introduced the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act, legislation to prevent the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from implementing a proposed rule that would significantly limit 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization activities. 

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