I wanted to make sure you saw Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul’s comments to the IRS supporting a proposal to repeal a dangerous IRS  regulation . . .

One requiring organizations like Campaign for Liberty to divulge the names of their top donors to the tax agency -- or face crippling fines and other legal sanctions.

But the truth is, we could not have resisted the IRS for three years if Campaign for Liberty supporters like you had not made sure we had the resources to fight the IRS.

The generous support of liberty lovers like you ensured we could stand up to the IRS without risking cutting into budgets for efforts like passing Audit the Fed, restoring the Fourth Amendment by rolling back the surveillance state,  stopping any and all gun control measures and repealing ObamaCare.

So,  thank you for your support in helping us take on the IRS as well as for all of our important battles on behalf of liberty.

I've enclosed a copy of Dr. Paul's comments below. 

After you've read them, I hope you'll consider pitching in with any additional support you could to help ensure Campaign for Liberty is always able to stand our ground when fights like this arise.

In Liberty,

Norm Singleton
President

Here is Dr. Paul’s official comments in support of repealing this rule:

Comments of Dr. Ron Paul, Chairman of Campaign for Liberty and former U.S. Congressman

In support of proposed rule
                             IRS REG-102508-16

On behalf of Campaign for Liberty’s grassroots supporters, I am pleased to submit comments in support of the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulation (REG-102508-16) repealing the requirement that 501(c)(4) organizations list their top donors on their Schedule B tax filings.

Founded in 2008, Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization created to advance limited government, individual liberty, free-markets, and a constitutional foreign policy, by means of education, issue advocacy, and grassroots mobilization.

The dangers of requiring advocacy organizations like Campaign for Liberty divulge their donors’ names to the IRS was demonstrated in 2014 when the agency had to pay the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) a $50,000 fine in 2014 because an IRS employee who disagreed with the NOM agenda gave the names of NOM donors to the group’s political enemies. It was also reinforced by the now infamous “slow walking” of approval of tax-exempt status for “tea party” groups that opposed President Obama’s agenda.

The use of IRS power to harass and intimidate those whose political views made them unpopular with those in power didn’t start in just the last ten years. Presidents of both parties have used the IRS as a weapon against their political enemies. Franklin Roosevelt had critics of the New Deal and members of the America First movement audited.  Lyndon Johnson had his political opponents audited, and Richard Nixon’s abuse of the IRS was cited in the articles of impeachment the House Judiciary Committee passed against him before he resigned. During Bill Clinton’s administration, many conservative organizations critical of the president’s policies were audited. The head of one of the targeted conservative groups was actually told by an IRS agent, “what do you expect when you go against the president?” When George W. Bush became president, the IRS took an eight-year break from harassing conservatives but began auditing organizations opposing the Iraq war.

Since donations to 501 (c)(4) groups like Campaign for Liberty are not tax-deductible, there is no reason why the IRS would ever need to know the names of our donors.

Anonymous political speech has a long history in America going back to the pre-revolutionary war pamphlets. Both The Federalist and The Anti-Federalist papers were published anonymously.

Given this history, it is not surprising that numerous federal court precedents uphold the right of groups like Campaign for Liberty to protect the identity of their donors and members. The main case on this point is NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 (1958).  In NAACP, the Supreme Court held that the NAACP had a First Amendment right to not comply with the State of Alabama’s demand that the NAACP turn over a list of their members.

Representing the majority, Justice Marshall Harlan wrote that “compelled disclosure of membership in an organization engaged in advocacy of particular beliefs is of the same order.  Inviolability of privacy in group association may in many circumstances be indispensable to preservation of freedom of association, particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs.”

In the years since the NAACP decision, the right of organizations such as Campaign for Liberty to keep their donor lists private has been upheld by several other courts.  For example, in International Union, UAW v. National Right to Work Legal Defense and Educational Foundation, 590 F 2d 1139 (D.C. Circuit 1978), the National Right to Work Foundation successfully fought an attempt by their political opponents to force them to divulge the names of their donors.

History has shown that politicians and even IRS “professional” employees can’t  resist the temptation to use the agency’s power to punish and silence “…those exposing dissident beliefs.” The First Amendment to the Constitution requires the government to take every precaution to protect the rights of all to participate in the political and policy process—especially those who espouse beliefs unpopular with those who currently hold political power. Therefore, on behalf of Campaign for Liberty’s many supporters, I urge the IRS to approve proposed regulation 102508-16 and repeal the requirements that 501(c)(4) organizations list their top donors on their Schedule B tax filings.