On Monday, in a major victory for conservative groups, the Treasury Department announced that some tax-exempt groups that participate in politics will no longer have to disclose their donors to the Internal Revenue Service. Those groups include Section 501(c)4 groups; conservative Section 501(c)4 groups were targeted by the IRS during the Obama Administration.

Now, with the Treasury Department’s announcement, although charities and political groups will still be required to provide the names and addresses of donors, some tax-exempt groups will not have to provide the donors’ names and addresses. Among those groups are an arm of the National Rifle Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated, “Americans shouldn’t be required to send the IRS information that it doesn’t need to effectively enforce our tax laws, and the IRS simply does not need tax returns with donor names and addresses to do its job in this area. This change will in no way limit transparency. The same information about tax-exempt organizations that was previously available to the public will continue to be available, while private taxpayer information will be better protected.”- READ MORE

Former President Barack Obama, in a rare post-presidency speech abroad, took several thinly veiled shots at his successor and other populist “right-wing billionaires” — while openly touting a controversial liberal push for “universal income.”

In one of his biggest speeches since leaving the White House, Obama delivered the 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday. He used the platform to rail against populist movements, which have gained strength in the U.S. and Europe.

“Given the strange and uncertain times we are in—and they are strange, and they are uncertain—with each day’s news cycles bringing more head spinning and disturbing headlines, I thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and try to get some perspective,” Obama began.

Obama went on to slam the “right-wing billionaires” leading populist movements, in a clear reference to President Trump and like-minded politicians in Europe.

“Populist movements, cynically funded by right-wing billionaires worried about their own interests,” Obama said. “These movements tapped the unease that was felt by so many people who live outside of urban course. That their social status and privileges were eroding … threatened by outsiders, those who don’t look like them or sound like them.” – READ MORE