Friday, November 07, 2008

Did Mormon Church and Catholic Diocese Break IRS Rules?

In the last post I referenced a new web site that seeks to pressure the IRS to consider a revocation of the Mormon Church's tax-exempt status - talk about hitting them where it hurts. The theory behind this effort is that Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that tax-exempt churches cannot cross the line and officially attempt to influence legislation. In this case, letters and messages from the LDS leadership in their official capacity did just this Here's the IRS limitation:
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In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying).
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Another institution - or at least certain dioceses - that needs to be examined is the Catholic Church. Certain bishops in their official capacity directed church members that they'd go to Hell if they voted for Obama. This is an express no-no under the rules of Sec. 501(c)(3). which provides that non-profits cannot:
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participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
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Perhaps all of us need to contact our Congressmen/women and U.S. Senators and flood them with demands that the IRS move to act against the Mormon church and the offending Catholic dioceses.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Though I'm all for removal of the tax exempt status for certain (maybe even all) churches, what creteria determines "substanial"? If we knew that we could be more effective in dealing with the IRS.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike!
This is a truly great idea! I just posted a similar post at my own blog (Hansisgreat.com) encouraging readers to contact the IRS an insist that the Mormon and Catholic churches pay taxes on the $35.8 million they used illegally to support a political campaign.
After all, if opponents of Prop 8 have to pay taxes, then why shouldn't its supporters have to as well? That's just basic fairness.
These groups aren't really charities at all, they're political action committees.
Great post, dude. Keep up the good work!