Wingnut Pastors Break Tax Laws

Over the weekend, with the encouragement of various far right Christianists organizations, pastors at nearly three dozen anti-gay churches basically gave the finger to the IRS and other law abiding religious denominations and charities by actively supported political candidates. Why, because they think the laws apply to everyone else and that they can do whatever they want in the name of so-called "religious freedom." Under the tax laws, in exchange for tax exempt status, an organization (be it a church or any other charitable organization) may not endorse political candidates. As I have stated over and over, the Christianists think they can flout the laws that they do not like and/or that they have special rights. They whine about "special rights" for gays, but the truth of the matter is that it is they who want special rights. Hopefully, the IRS will pursue the violations, revoke the churches tax-exempt status and go after them for taxes. In my view, these Christianists and others like them are a clear and present danger to the rights of others and need to be stopped. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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All told, 33 pastors in 22 states were to make pointed recommendations about political candidates Sunday, an effort orchestrated by the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. The conservative legal group plans to send copies of the pastors’ sermons to the IRS with hope of setting off a legal fight and abolishing restrictions on church involvement in politics. Critics call it unnecessary, divisive and unlikely to succeed. Congress amended the tax code in 1954 to state that certain nonprofit groups, including secular charities and places of worship, can lose their tax-exempt status for intervening in a campaign involving candidates.

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Because the pastors were speaking in their official capacity as clergy, the sermons are clear violations of IRS rules, said Robert Tuttle, a professor of law and religion at George Washington University. But even if the IRS rises to the bait and a legal fight ensues, Tuttle said there’s “virtually no chance” courts will strike down the prohibition. “The government is allowed, as long as it has a reasonable basis for doing it, to treat political and nonpolitical speech differently, and that’s essentially what it’s done here,” Tuttle said.

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Under the IRS code, places of worship can distribute voter guides, run nonpartisan voter registration drives and hold forums on issues, among other things. However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly - a sometimes murky line. The IRS said in a statement it is aware of Sunday’s initiative and “will monitor the situation and take action as appropriate.”

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The ban on churches intervening in candidate campaigns survived a court challenge when a U.S. appellate court upheld the revocation of tax-exempt status of a New York church that took out a newspaper ad urging Christians to vote against Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election.

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Opposition to Sunday’s sermon initiative was widespread. A United Church of Christ minister in Ohio rallied other religious leaders to file a complaint with the IRS. Roman Catholic Archbishop John Favalora of Miami wrote that the archdiocese abides by IRS rules in part because “we can do a lot for our communities with the money we save by being tax-exempt.”

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Two-thirds of adults oppose political endorsements from churches and other places of worship and 52 percent want them out of politics altogether, according to a survey last month from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.