IRS, Donors and Faculty for Sale?

5/11/2011 – After Citizens United, big donors have poured money into a growing number of nonprofit Section 501(c)(4) organizations to finance political attack ads while remaining anonymous (e.g., Karl Rove’s Crossroads conduit). Now comes this irony: The anti-tax, anti-government donors may eventually get hit with a tax bill, courtesy of the IRS applying its gift tax rules to these contributions. Such a bold move will no doubt be challenged through the courts, but it represents a healthy perspective: Tax-exempt groups should not be used as a conduit for secret contributions designed to elect the favorite candidate of a wealthy donor, whether it’s the Koch brothers, Exxon or George Soros.  Speaking of the Kochs and conduits, here’s a fascinating story from Florida that begins: “A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.” In the Koch world, everything is for sale or should be for sale.