FFRF and 21 California Taxpayers File Historic Challenge

FFRF and 21 California Taxpayers File Historic Challenge
FFRF Sues IRS, Geithner & California State over "Minister of Gospel" Tax
Benefits
http://www.ffrf.org/news/2009/parishallowancesuit.php
[excerpt]


October 19, 2009

The national Freedom From Religion Foundation, along with 21 of its
California members, has filed a nationally-significant federal lawsuit in
Sacramento, challenging tax benefits for "ministers of the gospel,"
commonly known as "the parsonage exemption."

Ministers, who are paid in tax-free dollars, also may deduct their mortgage
interest and property tax payments. Under both Federal and California law,
allowances paid to "ministers of the gospel" are not treated as taxable
income, unlike the situation for other taxpayers. Only "ministers of the
gospel" may claim these benefits, so the statutes convey a governmental
message of endorsement, unconstitutionally favoring religious employees and
institutions over all others, the Foundation maintains.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday, Oct. 16 in California Eastern District
Court, Sacramento office. Judge William B. Shubb will preside over the
case. Attorney Richard Bolton, Madison, Wis., with local counsel Michael
Newdow, Sacramento, represent the Foundation and its plaintiff members. The
Madison, Wis.-based state/church watchdog serves as a national association
for freethinkers (atheists and agnostics), and is the largest such
association in the United States, with more than 14,000 members.

The Foundation seeks a declaration that, on their face and as administered,
provisions allowing tax benefits for "ministers of the gospel," provided
for by the IRS and Treasury Department, violate the Establishment Clause of
the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. FFRF requests that the Court
enjoin any allowance or grant of tax benefits for ministers of the gospel
under §§107 and 265(a)(6) of the Tax Code. Similarly, the Foundation
challenges Sections 17131.6 and 17280(d)(2) of the California Revenue and
Taxation Code, which correspond to the IRS codes, and "have the same
constitutional defects and infirmities."

Defendants are Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Treasury, Douglas Shulman,
Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and Selvi Stanislaus,
executive officer of the California Franchise Tax Board, who are all
providing tax benefits only to "ministers of the gospel," rather than to a
broad class of taxpayers.

The exemptions permit clergy to deduct from their taxable income housing
allowances furnished as part of compensation. The unique benefits to clergy
date to 1954, when Congress amended the Tax Code to permit all clergy to
exempt their housing costs from their incomes taxes. U.S. Rep. Peter Mack,
author of the amendment, declared:

"Certainly, in these times when we are being threatened by a godless and
antireligious world movement we should correct this discrimination against
certain ministers of the gospel who are carrying on such a courageous fight
against this foe. Certainly this is not too much to do for these people who
are caring for our spiritual welfare."

Section 107(2) allows ministers to avoid paying taxes on income declared to
be a "housing allowance." The privilege also permits churches to save money
on clergy salaries. Most notorious, clergy may "double-dip": deduct their
mortgage payments and real estate taxes from income tax, even though they
paid for these with tax-exempt dollars, amounting to a government subsidy
solely for clergy. In 2002, Congress acted to protect the exemption, after
the IRS sued over an abusive housing allowance taken by Rev. Rick Warren,
by limiting deductions in future to "reasonable rental value."

"All other taxpayers pay more because clergy receive this privileged
benefit, not available to any other class of American," said Annie Laurie
Gaylor, Foundation co-president.

"The income taxation of ministers of the gospel under the general rules
that apply to other individuals would not interfere with the religious
mission of churches or other organizations or the ministers themselves,"
the legal Complaint maintains. The statutes are not an accommodation of
religion, therefore, but a subsidy.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that a tax benefit given only to
religion violates the Establishment Clause (Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock,
1989).
[end excerpt]
********************************
Read Complaint, Case No. 2:09-at-1672 (Note: This pdf file says it was
filed
Oct. 14, but it was actually filed Oct. 16).
http://ffrf.org/news/2009/parishallowancesuit.pdf


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You are invited to check out the following:

The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm

American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm

The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html

[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]

HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/

***************************************************************
. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning.  Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic."  New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
. . .
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James Veverka wrote:
One of the ways to counter the attack on American Constitutional principles
by the religious right is to address their revisionism, misinformation and
distortions.

****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote

"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"

That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.

It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.

*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html

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