The Silence of the Lambs

Over at Latino Issues links to an AP story about the IRS investigating churches.

Those referred to the IRS represent a tiny fraction of more than 1 million tax-exempt organizations organized under section 501(c)(3) of the tax law. The IRS examined 110 organizations referred to the tax agency for potentially violations, and 28 cases remain open.

Among the 82 closed cases, the IRS found prohibited politicking and sent a written warning to 55 organizations and assessed a penalty tax against one group. Those organizations included 37 churches and 19 other organizations.

Now, here’s what surprising to me, or if not surprising, it should be disturbing. We except the idea that the IRS should be able to police how political a church’s sermons can be. We’re creating a situation where people can be hit with high fines and devestating loss of Tax Exempt Status.

Of course, the argument goes if churches don’t want the limitations of Tax Exempt Status, they shouldn’t take it. Perhaps, BUT consider the fact that for 41 years prior to the passage of the Johnson Amendment, under the Income Tax Code, churches and non-profits ALREADY had a tax exempt status. What caused the Johnson Amendment to come into being:

In 1952, the House formed the House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, which was chaired by Representative Eugene E. Cox (R-GA) (Cox Committee). The Cox Committee was formed to determine “whether foundations have been infiltrated by communists, as well as whether tax-exempt groups are using their money for stated purposes and are not endangering our existing capitalistic structure.”

The Cox Committee determined that foundations had not been directly involved in subversion, but noted that they were in fact vulnerable to such influence. Accordingly, the committee recommended that foundations provide more information to the IRS as part of their annual returns.

The House created a second Special Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations…The committee found that there was a “rapidly increasing birth rate of foundations” and went on to observe that there was little implementation of their responsibility to the general welfare…

The committee’s found that foundations were becoming too powerful. Specifically, the committee noted that foundations could exercise “thought control” and through this could “materially influence public opinion.” It noted that where there were tax laws in place to curtail any political activity of foundations, the “present rule, as interpreted by the courts, permits far too much license.”

The Committee recommended a reexamining of tax law regarding the prohibition of political activity…Consequently. when Senator Johnson proposed his amendment on June 2, 1954, it was adopted without hearings or testimony. Both sides of the political fence were concerned regarding potential of non-profit groups to wield political power. The Committee urged the continued inquiry into the political activity of nonprofits, including churches. They stated in the Committee report, “The right of a minister, priest or rabbi to engage in political activity is clear enough. When such activity takes place, however, under the shelter of a tax-exempt organization which is not in itself a church, we question its permissibility”.

So, the genesis of this was born out of concerns of the influence of the Communism, with a small hint of being considered in regards general danger to the Status Quo. And we still have it on the books today. What’s happened is that this has become what OMB Watch calls a “Quid Pro Quo” which is in fact a bribe. Its the way of the establishment holding a gun to the church and other non-profits, saying, “Shut up or else!”

Do we consider that American? Is it free speech? Is it freedom of religion? No. Lets get back to the 1st Amendment and end this nonsensical regulation of free speech.

Religious Freedom

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