A Catholic anti-abortion group, Catholic Answers, recently announced it will form a new organization, Catholic Answers Action, after a 2004 complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed its Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics was a partisan intervention in that year's election. The new group is a social welfare organization exempt under 501(c)(4) of the tax code, and is not subject to the ban on partisan activity that applies to charities and religious organizations under section 501(c)(3). It intends to publish a similar 2006 version of its voter guide. The 2004 complaint was filed by Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC), citing an August 2004 ad sponsored by Catholic Answers in USA Today that urged readers not to consider voting for candidates who were on the wrong side of five 'non-negotiable' issues. The ad also sought tax-deductible contributions to support distribution of the guide. A CFFC press release announcing the complaint noted that Catholic Answers founder Karl Keating also engaged in electioneering by targeting presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in the group’s e-newsletter. Keating is quoted as saying Kerry "flunks the test given in Catholic Answers' Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics: He is wrong on all five 'non-negotiable' issues listed there." In April Keating posted a letter on Catholic Answers Action's Website announcing the formation of the new group, maintaining his group was "forced to start it" because of the IRS complaint filed by Catholics For a Free Choice. He noted that, "For more than a year her [Frances Kissling, CFFC president] complaint has been wending its way through the IRS, which has been sending us loads of interrogatories to answer." Although he denied Catholic Answers had violated the ban on partisan activity, he said the group did not want to cope with the time and expense of further IRS complaints that the 2006 guide would likely generate. As a result, CAA was incorporated in January, with the same board of directors as Catholic Answers. However, Keating's letter notes the two groups have separate activities, funding, and accounting and publish separate e-newsletters. The two groups will share office space and staff. In his letter Keating correctly states that the 501(c)(3) organizations can discuss political principles but cannot endorse or oppose candidates. However, he incorrectly states that the 501(c)(3) cannot support or oppose specific legislation. In asking for donations, he notes contributions to the new 501(c)(4) are not tax-deductible, but goes on to note that "Starting a new organization gives us two advantages: We won't be hassled with groundless but financially debilitating complaints filed [by] the IRS. We will be able to be more outspoken than we have been." The Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics for 2006 instructs readers to research candidate positions on five non-negotiable issues (abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and "homosexual 'marriage'"), and vote for candidates that support the Catholic Answers Action position. It also claims that "Distribution of this voter's guide does not violate the Internal Revenue Service regulations governing dioceses, parishes and other non-profit organizations." However, 501(c)(3) organizations would be well-advised to consult legal counsel and review the recent IRS Fact Sheet 2006-17, which stresses that voter guides must not focus on a narrow range of issues or be structured to reflect bias. In addition, the IRS notes that 501(c)(3)s' distribution of biased voter guides prepared by other organizations can still amount to a violation of the ban on partisan activity. Catholics For Free Choice welcomed the announcement of the new group, noting that "reporting violations works." This year it has filed a complaint against Priests for Life. In a press release announcing the complaint, the group says Priests for Life is recruiting volunteers to expressly elect pro-life candidates. According to Frances Kissling, CFFC president, "Priests for Life's current violations and open and flagrant contempt for the IRS [and] the tax-exempt regulations is breathtaking."