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Sun 27 Mar, 2016 01:21 pm
I believe religious institutions are not taxed based on the 1st Amendment requirement that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...."
I don't understand why Congress couldn't tax religious organizations as long as the tax was not imposed solely on religious organizations.
In any event, why can't all the other not for profits be taxed?
Interestingly, if a church fails to keep its part of the separation of church and state deal, it can have its tax free status revoked. This happened to the The Landmark Church (formerly known as the Church at Pierce Creek) in Binghamton, N.Y. It had placed advertisements in USA Today and the Washington Times rebuking Bill Clinton four days before the 1992 presidential election. The ads’ headline, “Christians Beware,” was followed by a statement that Clinton’s positions concerning abortion, homosexuality and the distribution of condoms to teen-agers in schools violated biblical principles.
A notice at the bottom of the ad appealed for “tax-exempt donations” to pay for placing the ad. This attracted attention from the New York Times, and -- uh-oh! -- the regional commissioner of the IRS.
@Tes yeux noirs,
Tes yeux noirs-
Thank you.
I wonder if the IRS would have acted if not for the notice at the bottom of the ad.