It will probably come as no surprise to readers of this blog that a section 501(c)(3) organization has now filed a lawsuit challenging the statutory requirement that it disclose its substantial donors to the IRS, a requirement fulfilled by completing Schedule B to Form 990. The Buckeye Institute last week announced its complaint against the IRS, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Columbus Division. Its lawyers include attorneys from the national Institute for Free Speech, indicating that the forum choice of a district court in the Sixth Circuit was intentional. The lawsuit follows in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, where the Court struck down as unconstitutional a state rule requiring disclosure of charity donor information to a state agency. That case led many, including the non-profit organization scholars who filed an amicus brief supporting California’s rule, to predict other donor disclosure requirements could be at risk.
Lloyd Mayer
