--- title: "IRS Chief Hints at Broader Application for New Political Activity Rule" id: "27705" type: "post" slug: "irs-chief-hints-at-broader-application-for-new-political-activity-rule" published_at: "2015-03-24T19:50:10+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T13:42:57+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/03/24/irs-chief-hints-at-broader-application-for-new-political-activity-rule/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/03/24/irs-chief-hints-at-broader-application-for-new-political-activity-rule.md" excerpt: "In an update on the proposed rule on political activity by nonprofits, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told Congress and reporters that the agency may look to widen the rule’s lens to cover more than just 501(c)(4) organizations." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "political activity" - "Regulations" - "tax-exempt" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » IRS Chief Hints at Broader Application for New Political Activity Rule Last summer, the Internal Revenue Service [announced](http://associationsnow.com/2014/08/association-agenda-back-to-the-drawing-board-on-political-activity-rules/) that it was pumping the brakes on its proposed rule regarding how much political activity is appropriate for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt social-welfare organizations after it received more than 150,000 comments. Aside from [an appearance](http://associationsnow.com/2014/09/irs-commissioner-john-koskinen-agency-still-working-political-activity-rules/) at a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing in September, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has remained quiet about his agency’s work to revise the rule. > If it’s going to be a fair system, it needs to apply across the board. That is, until last week, when [he spoke to Politico (opens in a new tab)](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/irs-may-broaden-rule-to-police-political-nonprofits-116206.html#ixzz3UnK4u7cj) about the progress being made. In short, Koskinen hinted that the rewrite may involve broadening the rule to include more than social-welfare organizations. “If it’s going to be a fair system, it needs to apply across the board,” he said. “[I]f we have a set of definitions for 501(c)(4)s, what about everybody else? Can they do more or less [political activity]? And for us as [an] administration, for ease of administration, it makes sense to have this common definition.” Specifically, *Politico*asked about section 527 organizations, which focus almost exclusively on elections and are already subject to Federal Election Commission rules on political activity and disclosure requirements. But, during [his testimony (opens in a new tab)](http://appropriations.house.gov/calendararchive/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=394047) last week at a hearing in front of the House Committee on Appropriations, Koskinen said all tax-exempt groups should have a clear road map forward. “We’re looking at, to be fair, applications across the entire spectrum,” he said. “It shouldn’t just be (c)(4)s. We need to make sure that as Congress has legislated in all of these areas, there’s a consistent and appropriate framework for (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(5), (c)(6), [and] 527s.” In a statement to *Associations Now*, Jim Clarke, CAE, ASAE’s senior vice president of public policy, said while he’s interested in whether the rule will be expanded as wide as Koskinen suggested, he’s more concerned about how the IRS ultimately will define political activity. “We firmly believe that associations have the right to petition the government and speak out on a wide range of political issues,” Clarke said. “We would be opposed to any expansion of the definition to include activities such as candidate forums or meet-and-greets, voter registration activities, or issue-based legislative alerts sent within 60 days of an election that urge support for or opposition to legislation sponsored by a member who is running for reelection.” The IRS initially said the new rule would be ready by early 2015, but that deadline has come and gone. Now, the agency said, even if the rule is reissued before 2016, it will not apply to anyone until after the election in order to avoid another perceived targeting scandal. (via the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee’s Facebook page) [Rob Stott](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/) Rob Stott is a contributing editor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#political activity](https://associationsnow.com/tag/political-activity/) [#Regulations](https://associationsnow.com/tag/regulations/) [#tax-exempt](https://associationsnow.com/tag/tax-exempt/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) - [ArticleWays & Means to Examine Political Activities of Tax-Exempt OrganizationsAugust 18, 2023](https://associationsnow.com/2023/08/18/ways-means-to-examine-political-activities-of-tax-exempt-organizations/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F03%2F24%2Firs-chief-hints-at-broader-application-for-new-political-activity-rule%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !