More than 150 charities have voiced opposition to a bill that could jeopardize the tax-exempt status of any charity deemed by the U.S. Treasury secretary to be supporting terrorism.
The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Claudia Tenney, a New York Republican, would give the U.S. Treasury unilateral authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit considered a “terrorist supporting organization.”
Last week, the bill failed to gain the two-thirds support in the House it needed for fast-track status. It is expected to come up for a vote again this week.
Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, chided House Democrats for blocking the bill last week. In a statement, he said he believes charities are abusing the tax code to fund disruptive and illegal activity nationally and terrorism abroad.
“This shameful partisan play only sets back efforts to halt the abuse of America’s tax code by terrorist organizations,” Smith said.
Opponents of the bill include many human-rights charities such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, and Oxfam America. Critics of the bill fear that as president, Donald Trump might misuse the power by going after protesters and ideological opponents.
“It would grant the Trump administration, and any future administration, the ability to silence and censor its critics, curb free speech, target political opponents, and punish crucial organizations that speak truth to power and help people in the United States and around the world,” said Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s president, in a statement.
Similarly, the ACLU voiced its concern in a statement, saying the bill would “grant the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties organizations like ours — of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.”
