Buckeye v. IRS

Key Question in the Case: Does the IRS-required disclosure of The Buckeye Institute’s contributors unlawfully and substantially deprive Buckeye and its supporters of the free association and assembly rights secured by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution?

The Buckeye Institute has experienced firsthand the chilling effect that forced donor disclosure has on the freedom of association.

In 2013, shortly after The Buckeye Institute publicly urged Ohio’s governor and General Assembly to reject the federal efforts at Medicaid expansion, our organization was selected for audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Some Buckeye donors feared that this conspicuous audit was likely instigated as retaliation for Buckeye’s prominent role as the leading voice opposing the administration’s proposed Medicaid expansion. Those same donors expressed serious concern that if their names appeared on Buckeye’s records, they too could be potentially subjected to retaliatory individual audits or other such government antagonism. Some of The Buckeye Institute’s donors stopped giving entirely, and others began making smaller, anonymous, cash donations in the aftermath of Buckeye’s politically-motivated IRS audit—often foregoing donation receipts and with it tax-deductibility—hoping to avoid any personal political retribution for their financial support of Buckeye.