The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the imposition of taxable expenditure excise taxes on a private foundation and a foundation manager who ran radio ads seeking to influence a 2000 ballot measure in Oregon. The Court did not decide that the ads were improper lobbying activity, but held that they were not sufficiently “educational” to qualify as a charitable and educational activity. The Court further held that the manager could be personally liable because the lawyer’s opinion on which he claimed he relied for approving at least some of the ads was not a “reasoned opinion” as required by the Treasury Regulations. In a relatively short Memorandum Opinion, the Court noted that...