IRS scandal could change rules for nonprofits

“I don’t think, at the end of the day, Congress can … find a perfect set of rules for nonprofits,” said Eugene Steuerle, a fellow at the Urban Institute. “This is a very, very hard problem.” The rules governing nonprofits, including the 501(c)(4) groups targeted by the IRS, are vague and aren’t standardized throughout the government. Congress passed a law that bans all political activity at 501(c)(4)s, but the IRS implements a less stringent standard, simply saying that groups shouldn’t be primarily political. And there’s debate over what counts as political activity.

POLITICO.com