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Abstract:
Nonprofit section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating or intervening in an election on behalf of a candidate for public office. Despite this prohibition, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations have become increasingly active in political campaigns. Many organizations are either ignoring the political campaign ban or are using "issue discussion" or "lobbying" as a means of promoting candidates and testing the limits of the prohibition. Current scholarship surrounding the political campaign ban argues that the ban is either unconstitutional or inappropriate as a matter of public policy. This article argues that the ban is both meritorious and constitutional. It argues that taxpayer subsidized section 501(c)(3) organizations should not be permitted to intervene in political campaigns and that allowing them to do so will pose significant risks for the democratic system in the United States. It further argues that enforcement efforts with regard to the political campaign ban should be made public and delegated to an independent commission, outside the IRS, charged with enforcing campaign related prohibitions in the Internal Revenue Code.

Establishment Clause, First Amendment, charitable, religious

Abstract:
The United States is currently under-investing in the human capital of its children. This significant investment deficit threatens both our children's vitality and the nation's ability to compete in a knowledge-based economy. At all income levels, investment in children - in education, housing, training, and nutrition - has significant long-term beneficial returns for both the recipients of the investment and for society as a whole. This article proposes to shift the focus of our current fiscal policies towards human capital investment in children. It advocates a self-sustaining investment program that delivers resources directly to children and that children are required to repay when they start working. The article relies on the economic literature on human capital, the educational literature on the impact of money on childhood attainments, and the political theory literature on civic responsibility to help justify a self-sustaining investment program implementing through the tax code. This article seeks to promote new ways of evaluating our current programs and policies and to facilitate further discussion about a child-centered investment strategy.

children, tax, human capital, investment

Abstract:
In granting certiorari in the case of DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, the Supreme Court asked the parties to brief whether respondents have standing to challenge Ohio's investment tax credit. This report applies modern standing doctrine to the Cuno case and concludes that the Cuno plaintiffs do not have standing to raise their claims in federal court. Moreover, the authors write, allowing the Cuno plaintiffs' case to be resolved in federal court would open the federal court system to a wide range of taxpayer challenges better left to the political branches of government. Nevertheless, they recognize that there may be other litigants that would have standing to challenge Ohio's investment tax credit in federal court.

cuno, daimlerchrysler, state tax incentives, taxpayer standing

Abstract:
In an attempt to avoid the traditional constitutional problems associated with campaign finance disclosure laws, campaign finance reform advocates took an alternative approach. Reformers amended the Internal Revenue Code and used the tax status of political organizations as a mechanism for encouraging campaign disclosure of campaign related spending. The reformers conditioned a political organization's tax-exempt status on the willingness of the organization to disclose its contributors and expenditures. This article deals with the constitutionality and wisdom of the recently enacted legislation and suggests possible alternatives.

Section 527, campaign finance, disclosure, Buckley, political organization, tax exempt, Internal Revenue Code, tax policy

Abstract:
Independent political organizations have become increasingly active in political advocacy and in their attempts to influence elections. These independent political organizations generally organize as non-profit organizations and are not directly associated with a candidate or political party. The groups either seek to promote issues associated with candidates running for office, or seek to influence an election in favor of or in opposition to a specific candidate. As these organizations have become more involved in political advocacy, campaign finance reform advocates have pressed for further regulation of these entities. Attempts to regulate the activities of independent groups are often in tension with First Amendment principles. The Supreme Court's decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life significantly rolled back some of the restrictions placed on independent groups, and this decision may encourage Congress to seek alternative means of regulating campaign activities.

In the past, Congress has regulated independent political groups by putting restrictions on the entity structures under which these entities are organized. For example, as a condition of receiving tax-exempt status under section 527 (as a political organization) an entity must disclose the contributions it receives and its expenditures. Some in Congress and in academia have argued that section 527 political organizations should be regulated under election law as political committees. This article examines whether an organization could avoid some of these restrictions by forgoing tax-exempt status and organizing as a taxable organization. Proponents of such a move argue that political organizations have no taxable income and there would therefore be no consequences to organizing as political organizations. This article examines the characteristics that independent organizations seek when choosing an organizational form and discusses various tax theories that provide the basis for examining the tax implications of an organization's forgoing tax-exempt status. The article concludes that there will be significant tax implications to an independent political group that decides to forgo tax-exempt status and that taxable independent groups are not an ideal mechanism for avoiding restrictions on non-profit organizations.

campaign finance, campaign reform, BCRA

Abstract:
In this report, Tobin examines the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in National Federation of Republican Assemblies v. United States, which dealt with section 527 political organizations.