Trump administration weighs order targeting nonprofits over alleged terrorist ties - report
Officials have spent months on an order invoking Section 501(p) of the tax code, which would let the president suspend groups’ tax-exempt status immediately, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Trump administration is considering an executive order that could designate certain nonprofit organizations as having terrorist ties, according to The Wall Street Journal. This move, if enacted, would immediately suspend their tax-exempt status and potentially cripple their operations. White House officials have been working on the order for months, though it remains under deliberation.
The potential scope of targets is uncertain, with no official confirmation of which groups, if any, would be affected. The Treasury Department and the IRS have declined to comment on the matter. The order would draw upon a rarely-used provision of the tax code, significantly ramping up the administration's scrutiny of tax-exempt groups, potentially including those with political opposition to the Trump administration.
Prior to this, Trump signed a national security memorandum urging the IRS to prevent tax-exempt groups from involvement in domestic terrorism or political violence. In September, he designated antifa as a domestic terrorist organization via executive order. The Justice Department recently indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging fraud, a claim the group denies.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also called on the Treasury Secretary to suspend the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, alleging it maintains ties to terrorist networks, a charge the CAIR denies.
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