Goading Churches into Defying Federal Tax Laws
The Journal reports: Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional. Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged partisan activity. Even as such stunts serve to distort our national discourse in a theocratically framed argument, Americans United for Separation of Church and State noted in a press release that the chances of prevailing are slim:
In May of 2000, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously held that the IRS properly revoked the tax exemption of the Church at Pierce Creek, a congregation near Binghamton, N.Y., that bought newspaper ads in 1992 opposing presidential candidate Bill Clinton. (Americans United filed a complaint with the IRS about this clear violation of tax law.) The Interfaith Alliance added: The Alliance Defense Fund's call for pastors to break the law represents the height of irresponsibility. They are putting churches across the country unnecessarily at risk to costly and time-consuming investigations that could result in harsh financial penalties. Putting churches in legal and financial jeopardy seems a bizarre way of defending religious freedom, which the ADF claims to defend. The IRS rules, while detailed and understandably unable to cover every cicumstance, are clear in principle:
"...all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office." Any questions? Nevertheless, the IRS has historically been reluctant to punish churches for straying over the line. However, over the past few years, the agency has been ramping-up both education and enforcement actions as churches, goaded by the religious right, have bent and broken the clear proscriptions against electioneering. This could be a showdown year. "I think very few clergy will yield to the Alliance Defense Fund's worldly temptation," Barry Lynn of Americans United said. "And those who do will find their churches' tax exemptions in jeopardy. I assume the ADF will provide a list of congregations unwise enough to join this move, and we'll be ready to report those churches to the IRS."
It will be tempting to some to view this as a tempest in a tea pot; another example of far out, but not terribly consequential religious right antics. But I think this is a politization effort whose ripple effects will extend far beyond the participating churches, and a constitutional lawsuit that will certainly take years to resolve. But there is more.
This is an effort that is seeks to frame the ongoing debate over the role of religion in public life over the next few years. We can say this in part because the Alliance Defense Fund is a central strategy organization of the Religious Right, whose board includes top officers of Focus on the Family and Campus Crusade for Christ. Their main initiatives are bellwether activities and merit our attention.
Goading Churches into Defying Federal Tax Laws | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)
Goading Churches into Defying Federal Tax Laws | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 hidden)
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