Utah Nonprofits Association Opposes H.R. 9495 which gives Treasury Secretary power to revoke 501(c)3 status

In the name of anti-terrorism,  H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act would give the Treasury nearly unfettered power to revoke the tax-exempt status of charitable nonprofits that the Secretary alleges supports terrorist activities.

Utah Nonprofits Association strongly opposes this bill. The potential for overreach, subjective application, and abuse of this legislation is enormous, and the consequences for organizations and the people they serve cannot be overstated. Stopping bad actors from using nonprofits to fund terrorism is a critical public policy goal, but this legislation creates redundancies, confusion, and has potential for serious abuse.

Section 4 allows the U.S. Treasury Secretary to designate nonprofits as “terrorist-supporting organizations” without full transparency. Accused organizations are only given 90 days to prove their innocence, undermining constitutional protections. Should an organization successfully contests the designation, the damage to its reputation, donor trust, and access to financial services could be irreparable and nonprofits providing humanitarian aid in conflict zones could lose tax-exempt status, putting critical assistance at risk.

Please contact Representative Moore, (UT-1), Representative Maloy, (UT 2), Representative Curtis (Ut-3), or  Representative Owens, (UT-4), and urge them to vote No on H.R. 9495.