Question:
"The I.R.S. argues that freedom of religion does not grant freedom from taxes if churches engage in politics." November 22, 2005 Editorial Taxing an Unfriendly Church Shortly before the last election, a former rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., gave a fiery antipoverty and antiwar sermon. He did not endorse a presidential candidate, but he criticized President Bush’s policies in Iraq and at home. Now the Internal Revenue Service has challenged the church’s tax-exempt status. It’s important to know just how the tax police have chosen this church – and other congregations – to pursue after an election that energized churchgoers of most denominations. I.R.S. officials have said about 20 churches are being investigated for activities across the political spectrum that could jeopardize their tax status. The agency is barred by law from revealing which churches, but officials have said these targets were chosen by a team of civil servants, not political appointees, at the Treasury Department. The I.R.S. argues that freedom of religion does not grant freedom from taxes if churches engage in politics. That should mean that the 2004 presidential campaign would be an extremely fertile field. While some churches allowed Democrats to speak from the pulpit, the conservative Christians last year mounted an especially intense – and successful – drive to keep President Bush in office. Some issued voter guides that pointedly showed how their own religion was allied with Mr. Bush’s views. Several Roman Catholic bishops even suggested that a vote for John Kerry would be a mortal sin. Since the election, Republicans have held two openly political nationally televised revival meetings at churches to support Mr. Bush’s judicial nominations. If the I.R.S. is pursuing any of those churches, we certainly have not heard from them about it. All Saints in Pasadena has released copies of the letter from the I.R.S., along with tapes of the sermon and a defense of the church’s antiwar mission going back to the days when church leaders protested internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The I.R.S. letter stated that the agency had "concerns" about a sermon by the Rev. George Regas that The Los Angeles Times called "a searing indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq." Church leaders have hired lawyers and refused to agree to a settlement that requires them to admit that the sermon was over the line drawn by the I.R.S. The Rev. J. Edwin Bacon, the rector of All Saints, told parishioners that the church would continue to resist the government’s efforts. That sounds right. With the feverish courting of religious voters these days, the I.R.S. does have the daunting task of separating politics from church policy. Still, it would seem to be hard to justify picking on a church that has a long record of opposition to wars waged by leaders from both parties.
Response:
Robert wrote: > <George Carlin> If the churches want to take part in politics, tax the fuckers.
Tax the celibates, too.
Response:
marasu on 23/11/2005 2:36 am wrote: > Robert wrote: >> <George Carlin> If the churches want to take part in politics, tax the >> fuckers. > Tax the celibates, too.
Sklenge on 23/11/2005 5:44 am [YES 5:44 AM! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD] wrote: This happens in a roundabouty way; people with kids get kickbacks. — Sklenge
Response:
Robert <twpresid…@phreaker.net> wrote in news:Xns9716AEA4D464Dtwpresidentphreakern@208.49.80.124: > <George Carlin> If the churches want to take part in politics, tax the > fuckers.
Yeah, I really see Bush wanting to tax his supporters. I’m sure any pro- Bush sermons from any pulpit will be seriously considered by the IRS. — As for the pastor, after four days of listening to science experts dismantling the case for intelligent design, he was unimpressed. "They’re babblers," said the pastor, the Rev. Jim Grove, who leads a 40-member independent Baptist church outside of Dover. "The more Ph.D.’s you get, it seems like the further away from God you get." (NY Times, 10-2-05)
Response:
Somehow, any time a liberal opens his mouth, he’s accused of trying to influence politics. Any time any of the few people who have any real power or influence in the US fuck someone in the ass, the ass-fuckee thanks him for sticking it to the liberals! KC
Response:
"KC Carter" <newmediapr…@yahoo.com> wrote in news:1132893862.522275.75140 @g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: > Somehow, any time a liberal opens his mouth, he’s accused of trying to > influence politics. Any time any of the few people who have any real > power or influence in the US fuck someone in the ass, the ass-fuckee > thanks him for sticking it to the liberals! > KC
That’s what a card-carrying ACLU LIEbrul would say! — As for the pastor, after four days of listening to science experts dismantling the case for intelligent design, he was unimpressed. "They’re babblers," said the pastor, the Rev. Jim Grove, who leads a 40-member independent Baptist church outside of Dover. "The more Ph.D.’s you get, it seems like the further away from God you get." (NY Times, 10-2-05)
Response:
> That’s what a card-carrying ACLU LIEbrul would say!
As we all pay higher energy and healthcare costs b/c the president has let his friends rig the market. It’s all worth it as long as we don’t research stem cells. KC
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