On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that frees Americans held hostage or unjustly detained overseas from the fear of crushing tax penalties upon returning home. Unfortunately, as is often the case with legislation, that's not all it does. The bill also lets the government designate nonprofit groups as supporters of terrorism, with minimal safeguards, and strip them of their tax-exempt status. It's good that lawmakers want to grant tax relief to people recovering from kidnapping ordeals, but we shouldn't further weaponize tax rules and financial power for political purposes.
