Cool: Koch Funds Groups Supporting Lawsuit Against Donor Transparency

One of Charles Koch's key nonprofits doesn't want to abide by California tax laws that require it to reveal its largest donors to the state, even though that information is kept confidential from the public, and the Supreme Court will consider today whether to take up the case.

Cool: Koch Funds Groups Supporting Lawsuit Against Donor Transparency Supreme_court_building

Cool: Koch Funds Groups Supporting Lawsuit Against Donor Transparency Supreme_court_building

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), the "charitable" arm of the 501(c)(4) political group Americans for Prosperity, with $17.3 million in revenue in 2018, is challenging California's donor transparency requirements. Under California law, charitable nonprofits that solicit donations in the state are required to confidentially submit to regulators their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Schedule B forms identifying donors who gave $5,000 or more in a given tax year. This requirement, which is identical to what the IRS also mandates, provides information the state can use when investigating fraud.
AFPF and its Koch-backed allies argue that this requirement infringes on its "freedom," spinning it as an infringement on donor privacy.
The case, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra, made it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled in favor of the state of California, maintaining the constitutionality of the requirement. The 9th Circuit concluded that the disclosure law is justified by the state's need to ensure that tax-exempt funds are not used for improper purposes or self-dealing.
Now, AFPF is hoping the Supreme Court, which has a solid conservative majority, will take the case and rule in its favor. The Court is scheduled to consider whether to hear the case at its private conference today.
On Sep. 24-25, dozens of groups submitted 22 amicus briefs to SCOTUS urging the court to take the case. Many of these groups are closely tied to Koch and his political influence and funding network. They claim that the California law restricts their right to freely associate and could risk the safety of their donors.
A CMD review of IRS tax records has found that three Koch family foundations and two donor-advised fund sponsors heavily utilized by the Koch network have donated more than $35.3 million since 2015 to AFPF and 15 of the groups that submitted amicus briefs supporting AFPF's case. The Charles Koch Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute each funded a number of these organizations, which include the Cato Institute, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the Philanthropy Roundtable. The David Koch Foundation funded one group, and the two donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsors, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund, have financed many of these same outfits.

https://www.prwatch.org/news/2020/01/13524/koch-funds-groups-supporting-lawsuit-against-donor-transparency

:noneyabiz:

Cool: Koch Funds Groups Supporting Lawsuit Against Donor Transparency

Cool: Koch Funds Groups Supporting Lawsuit Against Donor Transparency

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

Via AnCaps: Law & Enforced Unnatural Order