Newsletter: Debating Corporate Political Contributions (Jan. 2012)

With a heated presidential election year underway, corporate political spending is expected to be a mainstay of 2012 shareholder campaigns. Following the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which lifted restrictions on political advocacy by corporations and unions, campaign finance has exploded, particularly through vehicles such as Super PACs and tax-exempt organizations which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising.