The nomination of Charles Rettig to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the term expiring November 12, 2022 was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on July 19, 2018, on a party-line 14-13 vote, with Democratic opposition rooted in this week's IRS decision to loosen tax-exempt organization contributor disclosure requirements.

The vote was held off of the Senate floor due to the lack of a quorum at a morning Committee session during which several Democratic senators expressed their concerns with the IRS rule change and called for the release of President Trump's tax returns. Many of the same senators spoke highly of Rettig's character and qualifications.

"The Trump administration has taken a qualified nominee and dumped him right in the middle of a dark-money political firestorm of their own creation," Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) said. "And a radical change in tax law regarding transparency and disclosure has dragged the IRS and Treasury into a swirling set of questions about the president's foreign financial ties and motivations. As a result, this nomination is no longer an isolated debate that can begin without context."

In Revenue Procedure 2018-38 released on July 16, IRS said tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(a), other than charitable organizations under Section 501(c)(3), are no longer required to report the names and addresses of contributors. A group of Section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations asked the Administration in a May 15 letter to eliminate the Schedule B form filing requirement, citing concerns over confidentiality and potential harassment and saying the "information is irrelevant to the legally permissible handling of tax filings by 501(c) organizations."

Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the new policy is commendable because the IRS does not need this information, which had previously been used in connection to the gift tax that no longer applies, and requiring the information has been a risk to American taxpayer security.

The nomination will still need to clear the full Senate. Timing of a Senate vote is uncertain.

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