Pasadena church could lose tax-exempt status for anti-war sermon
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:06 p.m. November 7, 2005
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20051107-1306-ca-antiwarsermon.html
PASADENA - Worshippers at a prominent liberal church were told that the
Internal Revenue Service has warned that the church could lose its
tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon that a former rector
delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election.
In his sermon, the Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All
Saints Episcopal Church to support either George Bush or his opponent, Sen.
John Kerry, D-Mass. But he was sharply critical of the Iraq war and Bush's
tax cuts.
The IRS in a June 9 letter warned the church that its tax-exempt status was
in jeopardy because the federal tax code prohibits such organizations from
intervening in political campaigns and elections. The church's current
rector, J. Edwin Bacon, told his congregation about the problem on Sunday.
"It's important for everyone to understand that the IRS concerns are not
supported by the facts," he told the congregation.
An IRS spokesman in Washington, D.C., declined comment Monday, saying the
law prohibits him from discussing particular cases.
The IRS has revoked a church's charitable designation at least once. A
church in Binghamton, N.Y., lost its status after running advertisements
against Bill Clinton's candidacy shortly before the 1992 presidential
election.
Some All Saints members and officials said they feared the politically
active, 3,500-member church was being singled out. Churches across
California on Sunday took stands on both sides of Proposition 73, which
would bar abortions for minors unless parents are notified.
"The question is, is it politically motivated?" said Joe Mirando, an
engineer from Burbank. "That's the underlying feeling of everyone here."
Marcus Owens, the church's tax attorney and a former head of the IRS
tax-exempt section, said he doubts that's the case.
"I think it is more a case of senior management at IRS not paying attention
to what the rules are," he said.
Owens wrote in an October letter to the IRS that "it seems ludicrous to
suggest that a pastor cannot preach about the value of promoting peace
simply because the nation happens to be at war during an election season."
He said the IRS recently offered to drop the proceedings if the church
admitted wrongdoing. The church declined the offer, he said.
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