Congressman Richard “Proud Daddy” Hudson (R-Charlotte Motor Speedway) has some thoughts about HB 2, the NCAA, and the ACC. In a statement provided to The News & Observer:
“This is political theater by the NCAA and ACC. If these multi-million dollar, tax-exempt organizations were interested in social change and not making a political statement, they would proceed with their marquee events in North Carolina and enact any transgender bathroom policy they wanted. This blatant political move – less than two months before the election – brings into question their tax-exempt status. This is an avenue to we intend to explore.”
Aside from typical Republican politician bluster about “enacting transgender bathroom policies,” Hudson’s threat of retaliation against the ACC and the NCAA’s tax-exempt status because they pulled events from North Carolina is, uh, interesting, to say the least.
Richard Schmalbeck, a Duke law professor specializing in nonprofit organizations, is skeptical that what Hudson is suggesting could actually happen.
“Congress doesn’t giveth or taketh [tax-exempt status] away in particular cases,” Schmalbeck says. “Congress does set the overall rules by which exempt status is determined but they’d have to do it in the form of a general rule.
“What they can do is ask the IRS to investigate an organization they think is misbehaving,” he continues. “Any citizen can do that, but the IRS isn’t under any obligation to investigate. But he could suggest it, and he’s a congressman, so the IRS would pay attention. But then the question would be, what the IRS would do about it? And I’m not sure it’s close enough to any particular campaign or candidate [to be a violation].”
What’s more is that churches are also tax-exempt, and countless church leaders from all over the state have been outspoken in their support of the legislators and governor who made HB 2 happen. Wonder if Hudson will propose taking any religious organizations’ tax-exempt status away anytime soon.
