As Outside Interests Pledge to Flood Montana With More Cash, IRS Rolls Back Disclosure Rules

U.S. Treasury Will Require Less Disclosure From Groups

Billings—Today, dark money just got darker.

The same day that a Koch Brothers network’s special interest group announced that it would pump more money into Montana’s election, the US Treasury Department announced it is now permitting certain tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activity to provide less information about donors on their tax forms.

Now, groups like the Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity will no longer be required to identify information about their donors, making it easier for dark money to influence our elections.

Sen. Jon Tester consistently fights for more transparency in campaign finance. He has introduced legislation to overturn Citizens United and declare that corporations aren’t people, and he supports the DISCLOSE Act, which would bring more transparency to the campaign finance system.

Tester’s recent work to push for campaign finance reform includes his Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, which recently passed in the Senate. If signed into law, the act would increase transparency and save taxpayer money by requiring Senate candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically rather than using a paper-based process that costs the government nearly $1 million annually.

He has sponsored legislation to require tax-exempt organizations that participate in political activity to disclose their big donors.

By contrast, Matt Rosendale, who has a 100 percent rating from AFP, has a proven record of fighting to keep outside money in politics. Rosendale has praised the Citizens United decision, voted against the Montana Disclose Act, and has even been endorsed by Citizens United this election cycle.

Rosendale’s candidacy was carried through the primaries by more than $2 million in outside spending. Wealthy interest groups like Mitch McConnell’s super PAC and out-of-state billionaires like Richard Uihlein have pledged to continue flooding Montana with money in an effort to prop up Rosendale’s campaign.

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