Title: Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act
This bill expands the disclosure requirements for certain tax-exempt organizations.
This bill requires the annual tax return information for tax-exempt organizations and deferred compensation plans to be made available to the public at no charge and in an open structured data format that is processable by computers, with the information easy to find, access, reuse, and download in bulk.
The bill also requires the disclosure of the names and addresses of contributors of $5,000 or more to tax-exempt organizations that participate or intervene in political campaigns on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 735 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 735

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require that return 
   information from tax-exempt organizations be made available in a 
  searchable format and to provide the disclosure of the identity of 
           contributors to certain tax-exempt organizations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 11, 2019

Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Udall, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. King, and Ms. 
    Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require that return 
   information from tax-exempt organizations be made available in a 
  searchable format and to provide the disclosure of the identity of 
           contributors to certain tax-exempt organizations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-
profits (SUN) Act''.

SEC. 2. RETURN INFORMATION OF CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS 
              AVAILABLE IN A SEARCHABLE FORMAT.

    (a) In General.--Section 6104(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ``made available to the public at such time 
and in such places as the Secretary may prescribe.'' and inserting 
``made available to the public at no charge and in an open, structured 
data format that is processable by computers with the information easy 
to find, access, reuse, and download in bulk.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to returns required to be filed after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE CONTRIBUTORS TO CERTAIN TAX-EXEMPT 
              ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6104(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ``Nothing in this subsection shall 
authorize the Secretary to disclose the name and address of any 
contributor to any organization'' and inserting ``In the case of any 
applicable organization or trust, such information shall include the 
name and address of any qualified contributor to such organization 
which is required to be included on the return and the total 
contributions of such qualified contributor, but nothing in this 
subsection shall authorize the Secretary to disclose the name or 
address of any other contributor to such organization or any 
contributor to any other organization''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 6104(b) of such Code is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The information'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--The information'', and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Definitions.--For purposes of paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) Applicable organization or trust.--The term 
                `applicable organization or trust' means any 
                organization or trust which--
                            ``(i) indicates on an application (or 
                        amendment to an application) for recognition of 
                        exemption from tax under section 501(a) that 
                        such organization has or plans to spend money 
                        attempting to influence the selection, 
                        nomination, election, or appointment of any 
                        person to a public office,
                            ``(ii) asserts on a return that such 
                        organization participated in, or intervened in 
                        (including through the publishing or 
                        distributing of statements), a political 
                        campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any 
                        candidate for public office,
                            ``(iii) has filed, or was required to file, 
                        a statement or report under subsection (c) or 
                        (g) of section 304 of the Federal Election 
                        Campaign Act of 1974 with respect to 
                        independent expenditures made during the 
                        taxable year, or
                            ``(iv) has filed, or was required to file, 
                        a statement under section 304(f) of such Act 
                        with respect to disbursements for 
                        electioneering communications made during the 
                        taxable year.
                    ``(B) Qualified contributor.--The term `qualified 
                contributor' means, with respect to any applicable 
                organization or trust, any person who made aggregate 
                contributions (in money or other property) to such 
                applicable organization or trust during the taxable 
                year in an amount valued at $5,000 or more.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 6104(d)(3)(A) of such Code is 
amended by striking the first sentence and inserting the following: 
``In the case of any applicable organization or trust (as defined in 
subsection (b)(2)(A)), any copies of annual returns provided under 
paragraph (1) shall include information relating to the name and 
address of any qualified contributor (as defined in subsection 
(b)(2)(B)) to such organization and the total contributions of such 
qualified contributor, but nothing in such paragraph shall require the 
disclosure of the name or address of any other contributor to such 
organization or any contributor to any other organization (other than a 
private foundation (within the meaning of section 509(a)) or political 
organization exempt from taxation under section 527).''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to returns required to be filed after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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