| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
13 Nov 2005 12:48:46 PM |
| Object: |
To be or not to be tax exempt |
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/religion/columns/051112b.shtml
James L. Evans
To be or not to be tax exempt
All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., is in hot water with the
IRS. On Oct. 31, 2004 — the Sunday before Election Day last year — the
former rector of the church, the Rev. George F. Regas, preached a vigorous
anti-war sermon.
During the sermon, Regas asked congregants to imagine what a debate between
President Bush, Sen. John Kerry and Jesus might look like. Jesus, Regas
stated, would most certainly have harsh words for the war on terror in
general, and the war in Iraq in particular. He also went on to say that
Jesus was not too keen on tax cuts for the rich and gutting programs that
help the poor.
The Los Angeles Times carried a story about the sermon that characterized
the message as "a searing indictment of the Bush administration's policies
in Iraq." The proximity of the sermon to the November 2004 presidential
election prompted the IRS to send a letter to the congregation warning that
its tax exempt status may be in jeopardy because of political activity.
According to law, nonprofits are prohibited from engaging in excessive or
partisan political activity.
While it is unlikely the IRS will actually revoke the church's tax exempt
status, the incident does raise concerns for churches that have a political
bent — on the left and on the right. Faith communities have typically had
the right to "speak the truth to power," so long as they do not make
lobbying a full-time preoccupation and do not have a "vote for" whomever
sign on the church marquee out front.
All Saints seems to be within these boundaries, but in the heat of a
political season, sometimes things seem to be more than they really are.
On the other hand, there is nothing particularly sacred about being tax
exempt. The two main types of tax exemption — property tax and income tax —
are both vestiges of a time when Christianity was the official religion of
the colonies. During that period, established congregations were funded by
tax revenues, and even ministers were on the city payroll. And, of course,
church property was tax exempt because the state does not tax itself.
The ratification of the U.S. Constitution, however, brought about a
separation of church and state. Congregations and ministers were no longer
funded with tax revenues. But with a nod toward the role that churches play
in the community, the practice of exempting church property from taxes
continued.
The other major exemption churches enjoy, exemption from income tax, is
governed by the IRS code, section 501(c)(3). But most churches have never
actually filed for this exemption; they were "grandfathered" in as the law
was expanded to make room for nonprofits other than churches.
All of which is to say, if local congregations find the privilege of tax
exemption is hindering their ability to speak to the powers that be, then
simply give up their tax exempt status and say whatever they want. Jesus
never said that the church should be free from paying taxes. In fact, he
said "render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar."
And if what Caesar needs from the church is a stern reminder of who God is
and what God expects from the powers that be, and if the price for speaking
that message is the loss of tax exemption, then it is a small price to pay
for being faithful to our calling.
*****************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
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| User: "Gregory Gadow" |
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| Title: Re: To be or not to be tax exempt |
15 Nov 2005 03:14:53 PM |
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cpt banjo wrote:
My point was that no 501(c)(3) organization, be it a church,
university, animal shelter, or any other charitable institution has a
constitutional right to be tax-exempt.
That is exactly right.
--
Gregory Gadow
techbear@serv.net
http://www.serv.net/~techbear
"[W]e have never held that moral disapproval, without any other asserted
state interest, is a sufficient rationale under the Equal Protection
Clause to justify a law that discriminates among groups of persons."
- Sandra Day O`Conner, _Lawrence v Texas_
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=02-102
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