LANSING – Questioning whether the Mackinac Center for Public Policy engaged in lobbying activities when it claimed on its tax disclosure forms it did not, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking it to review the organization and take “appropriate actions” to ensure it complies with requirements for tax-exempt charitable and education organizations.

An official with the Midland-based said it had done nothing wrong.

Levin said in his letter that he was raising the issue because the staff with the Mackinac Center exchanged emails with Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) on legislation to change health insurance for public employees.

In those emails, which Levin attached to the IRS, Levin quoted Mackinac Center staff as saying its goal was “outlaw government collective bargaining in Michigan, which in practical terms means no more MEA,” the Michigan Education Association.

The Mackinac Center is long known for its fiscally conservative approach, challenging almost all aspects of government spending and taxation.

Nonprofit groups are permitted to lobby, so long as that is not their primary function, and must so indicate. In its filing, the Mackinac Center said it did not engage in lobbying, and Mr. Levin said he was concerned about its response it light of the emails to McMillin.

McMillin could not be reached by deadline for comment.

And as the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Levin said he believed it was his responsibility to ensure that all provisions of the tax code are complied with regardless of the organization’s point of view.

Joe Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center, said the group was operating within the law. “We’re 100 percent confident that we’re complying with all the relevant laws related to our 501c(3) status,” he said.

But he said the allegations show the center is accomplishing its goals. “It’s a backhanded compliment that acknowledges our effectiveness in the policy arena,” Lehman said.

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