Since the mid-1970s, the number and the size of organizations that are tax exempt have increased substantially; more than one million of these organizations existed as of 1992. Press reports and congressional hearings have recently focused on the activities of charitable groups, but other kinds of tax-exempt organizations have not received this level of scrutiny. This briefing report (1) discusses the growth in the number, the assets, the revenues, and the expenses of social welfare organizations, labor and agricultural groups, and business leagues; (2) documents the compensation that some of the largest of these tax-exempt organizations paid their executives in 1992; (3) identifies the extent to which these organizations are involved in lobbying and political activities; and (4) identifies Internal Revenue Service efforts to monitor their activities. Information on charitable organizations is presented for comparison purposes.

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