The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has
settled a lawsuit brought by a secular activist group, reportedly agreeing to
adopt standards for determining and investigating whether churches and religious
organizations have violated restrictions on political activity.
The precise terms of the settlement
are still unclear, as is how the IRS will amend its policies to enforce tax law
on churches in a way that is palatable to the Freedom From Religion Foundation
(FFRF) … which has long decried “rogue political churches.”
The atheist group has said that an
unspecified settlement agreement is underway.
Annie Laurie Gaylor of FFRF called the IRS’s decision to settle the case
— a legal battle that began in federal court in Wisconsin back in 2012 — “a
victory” … despite the moratorium currently in place on all IRS investigations
of non-profit groups. “This is a
victory, and we’re pleased with this development in which the IRS has proved to
our satisfaction that it now has in place a protocol to enforce its own
anti-electioneering provisions,” Gaylor said in a statement.
At the core of the FFRF’s lawsuit is
the Johnson Amendment, a
controversial IRS code added in 1954 that precludes non-profit organizations — to
include churches — from engaging in campaign activity. “FFRF was asking that the Johnson Amendment be enforced against
churches. The IRS has been enforcing the
Johnson Amendment against churches
since it was passed by Congress in 1954,” Erik Stanley, an attorney at Alliance
Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal firm, told The Blaze. “The agency took
a brief break from enforcing the law against churches in 2009 after its
procedures for auditing churches was declared unlawful by a federal district
court in Minnesota.”
While church audits were put on hold
(at that time) and the IRS promised to adopt new parameters for auditing houses
of worship (including the hiring of an official to explore complaints), it
apparently never happened.
The ADF has long opposed the Johnson Amendment and crackdowns on
pastoral speech from the pulpit, and said that recent news that the IRS has
settled with the atheist group creates some concern. “Every American should fear an IRS that uses
its vast power to target, threaten, and punish political opponents,” Stanley
added. “Churches have succumbed to this
regime of fear for the last 60-years under the Johnson Amendment, which was added to the tax code specifically to
silence speech a politician didn’t like.”
There’s also the fear that the IRS might have new policies and
procedures regarding churches that have not yet been released to the public — a
potential factor that could lead to “unequal enforcement of the law,” Stanley
said.
The ADF is demanding that the IRS
offer up its new policies that were drafted as part of its settlement with the FFRF,
filing a Freedom of Information Act
request last week in an effort to obtain all related documentation. “Churches have a right to know how they will
be treated by the IRS. And the IRS, as a
public agency, cannot enact new policies in secrecy,” Stanley said. [ADF is
willing to represent any church that is punished for pastoral speech that
violates the Johnson Amendment.] He added, “Our goal is to have the Johnson Amendment declared
unconstitutional and to restore a pastor’s right to speak freely from the
pulpit.”
While the situation is settled for
the time being, the FFRF has said it is willing to go back to court if needed
to ensure that churches that engage in illegal political activity are properly
treated under the law.
ADF is the organizer of the annual
“Pulpit Freedom Sunday” event. The
annual initiative encourages pastors “to reclaim their right to speak freely
from the pulpit by preaching an election-related sermon.” [The next event will be October 5.]
Lest you’ve forgotten, this latest controversy
over IRS policies comes as the agency is under fire for allegedly unfairly
targeting conservative groups.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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