The Availability of the Federal Educational Tax Exemption for Propaganda Organizations
![handle is hein.journals/davlr18 and id is 497 raw text is: The Availability of the Federal
Educational Tax Exemption for
Propaganda Organizations
Tommy F. Thompson*
By providing important economic benefits to nonprofit organizations,
educational tax exemptions directly affect the range of information and
knowledge available to the public. This Article analyzes the policy impli-
cations of granting tax-exempt educational status to propaganda organi-
zations. It traces the history of the Treasury Department's position on the
issue from the early attempts to deny exemption to all propaganda orga-
nizations to the current provision which exempts organizations that util-
ize educational methodology and provide a full and fair exposition of
facts supporting their conclusions. The Article argues that the full and
fair exposition standard is subjective and unadministrable, and negates
the significant benefits provided by propaganda organizations in ensur-
ing maximum public access to all viewpoints. It thus concludes that the
Treasury Department should recognize all forms of dissemination of in-
formation and propagation of doctrine as educational, except for cases
involving a substantial and objective basis for denying exemptions, such
as the advocacy of illegal activities.
INTRODUCTION
For more than sixty years, the Treasury Department has grappled
with a perceived problem in the administration of the exemption ac-
corded to educational organizations by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954:' under what circumstances a propaganda or-
*Associate Professor of Law, Rutgers University, Camden. B.S. 1968, University of
Notre Dame; J.D. 1975, Indiana University, Bloomington.
I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) (1982) reads:
(c) List of Exempt Organizations
The following organizations are referred to in subsection (a) [which
grants exemption]:
(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organ-](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/davlr18&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Availability of the Federal Educational Tax Exemption for Propaganda Organizations
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