I’m all for it. Just as soon as they start paying taxes.
Win win!
I knew that a lawsuit of this type was coming.
Sure sounds like an infringement of at least free speech, and possibly freedom of religion as well.
If churches get the same rights as individuals, then those churches can pay the same taxes as individuals. I expect this court to eventually rules that they have rights like they did with their horrible ruling concerning corporations.
Corps pay taxes, individuals pay taxes, churches can pay taxes and get all the rights they please.
And if you actually read the article, you’ll know why it isn’t a constitutional violations. What it is is performative. Pastors have been regularly trying to get the IRS to take away their TE status so they can file lawsuits.
Truth is, the IRS has punished only 2 churches in 70 years under the Johnson Amendment, so enforcement never really happens. This is just for show.
The rate of enforcement doesn’t matter. It’s neither here nor there.
It’s the principal of the thing.
If labor unions and non-profits can stump for their favorite candidate and publicly advocate any political position that they wish, then it seems pretty silly that religious organizations cannot as well.
I’ve always felt that that was a violation of free speech.
Whether the courts agree or not remains to be seen, but I’m shocked that this has never been challenged.
Agree with you there.
And also I don’t think any church is non-profit and all of them should be taxed like every other business.
You should read up on rules governing non-profits.
EDIT: And did you read the OPs article?
Non-Profits can make all sorts of political statements.
Just ask planned parenthood!
Did you read the article?
For those making statements but did not read the article
“They also cannot endorse political candidates. They can always promote their partisan causes, and they can also issue “score cards” saying certain politicians uphold their values while others do not (wink wink), but they cannot explicitly tell members how to vote.”
But the whiny churchy folks just can’t be happy with their tax free money for doing very little societal good/grifting.
Financial transparency is a related and interesting topic in regards to these tax exempt 501(c)(3) religious organizations .
I spent a bit of time trying to find the 990 filings of a church I attend and became a bit frustrated. All I could find was one measly little trust fund in a related name that was a mere 1 million dollars. I know there is much more revenue taken in.
The data is there on the irs site for downloading , but these are LARGE files that you will need some tools to handle. I get the feeling that these organizations do not file under expected names for whatever
reasons. If curious, try looking for data on Lakewood Church or Joel Osteen Ministries. These are not the organization I was looking for…but became a side objective.
Here is a Chron article how a big Houston mega church spends the donations. Not much to out reach and missions it appears.
It spent roughly $90 million during the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2017, according to a financial statement obtained by the Houston Chronicle for our “The Preacher’s Son” series. Here’s how:
- Weekly services and programs: $31.7 million
- Night of Hope events: $6.7 million
- TV ministry: $25.1 million
- General and administrative: $11.5 million
- Fundraising: $11.9 million
- Mission and outreach: $1.2 million
Appears I was wrong ; there are no financial transparency requirements (990) for churches per IRS.
There was an organization, ECFA, that attempted to address financial transparency for churches, but it is voluntary , and will
have exemptions of what is shared as well.
Every organization exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code section 501(a) must file an annual information return except:
- A church, an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches
- An integrated auxiliary of a church
- A church-affiliated organization that is exclusively engaged in managing funds or maintaining retirement programs
Yes. Churches, and the like do not have to file tax returns, generally. Now they do have to file some 990-T forms if they have unrelated business activity.
For example, a church that owns its property and building but happens to rent out part of the building to a gun range. That rent is taxable income. They would also file a 990-T to claim any refundable credits (such as health care credits or something).
I believe the 990-T is not public though, like a 990 or 990ez is.
And I’m sure they are all on top of that tax paying 
Was looking at the LDS , and there are estimates out there of their wealth being around $256 billion ! Not sure if that includes church real estate or what. And they haven’t disclosed true financials since 1959, but are required to file in the UK.
The church has not publicly disclosed its financial statements in the United States since 1959.[5] The church does disclose its financials in the United Kingdom[6] and Canada[7] where it is required to do so by law. In the UK, these financials are audited by the UK office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Seems reasonable to me that the tax exempts should have to file 990s but of course not have to list names of contributors in those.
Here was a relatively recent LDS shady dealings that I didn’t follow much in the press at the time. At least there was no molesting incidents in this one.
On February 21, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its non-profit investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors (EP), for failing to disclose the LDS Church’s investments, and instead creating shell companies whose purpose was to obscure the church’s portfolio. The SEC further charged that the forms that were filed by the shell companies deliberately concealed the amount of control that EP had over investment decisions.[1][2]
The charges were settled, with the LDS Church paying a $1 million penalty, and EP paying a $4 million penalty.[3]
Glad we can clear those high bars of standards.