Pryor Cashman Partner Daniel Kurtz, co-chair of the Nonprofit Organizations Practice, spoke with ABC News about the tax rules that could impact a 501(c)(3) charity run by political activist Kash Patel.
In "Trump loyalist Kash Patel's tax-exempt charity raises questions, experts say," Dan discusses the potential issues raised by the "Fight With Kash" 501(c)(3) sponsoring the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event:
"All of that is inconsistent with being a 501(c)(3), and it puts the [tax] exemption at risk," according to Dan Kurtz, a partner with the New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman who represents nonprofit organizations.
While 501(c)(3) organizations are allowed to express political views, they "are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating" in "any political campaign," which includes a ban on making "public statements of position ... in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office," according to the IRS.
"CPAC is not itself a campaign, but it's sufficiently close [that] for a charity to sponsor it is pretty dubious," said Kurtz, who before becoming a private attorney led the New York attorney general's charities bureau.
In the end, however, Dan and the other experts interviewed for the article agree that "even if Patel's charity was found to be violating rules around its tax-exempt status, there's a practical reality: The IRS is unlikely to take any action in such a case."
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[ABC News] Trump loyalist Kash Patel's tax-exempt charity raises questions, experts say
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