Democrats call on IRS to review right-wing group's 'church' status

[sinkingfeeling]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/08/02/family-research-council-irs/

Congressional House Democrats are asking the IRS to review the tax-exempt status of a prominent conservative advocacy group recently reclassified as a church, arguing the organization may be exploiting the designation to avoid scrutiny.

Lawmakers say that while the FRC often appeals to faith and advocates for a “biblical worldview,” the status change “strains credulity” because the group operates primarily as “a political advocacy organization.”

“They do not hold religious services, do not have a congregation or affiliated congregations, and do not possess many of the other attributes of churches listed by the IRS,” the letter reads. “FRC is one example of an alarming pattern in the last decade — right-wing advocacy groups self-identifying as ‘churches’ and applying for and receiving church status.”

The FRC is primarily known for its long-standing advocacy on conservative issues. Perkins is credited with being a driving force behind former president Donald Trump’s efforts to ban transgender people from the U.S. military. Perkins was also part of a “Pro-Life Voices for Trump” effort launched as part of Trump’s unsuccessful reelection campaign.

[Drum]

1. Kicking for visibility!

[UTUSN]

2. My local radio is monopolized by wingnut "minister" commercials on politics

[PortTack]

3. ALL RW churches need to stop with political ads for the gqp and telling members how to vote

Or lose their tax exemption

[DURHAM D]

4. It has been reported that the Catholic church spent 2.5 million

in Kansas on the abortion vote.

Strip them.

[Bev54]

5. Maybe they should also review the Catholic Church in Kansas as they

funded the group that was sending out the messages to try and confuse voters on the abortion vote, to get them to vote yes, thinking it would be in favour of abortion. Time to get all churches out of politics.

[shanti]

6. And take Scientology

with them.

[DET]

7. Bite The Bullet

There is no point in going after individual ‘churches’. The worst of them will just claim that they were unfairly targeted and will tie the country up in unending litigation. All so called religious institutions should have their tax exempt status removed at this point.

[cstanleytech]

8. Personally I think the tax code needs to be rewritten for churches that they may opt in if they so

wish to be granted tax except statues providing neither the church or the churches leadership opts not to use the church to influence or sway voters towards any party or candidate.
Any church that opts in can opt back out at any time however they must wait two years before supporting any party or candidate and failure to abide by that causes a tax penalty going back 5 years on the churches assets.
After all there is zero [0] Constitutional right to a tax free status to the assets a church may own.

[SergeStorms]

9. Churches should be made to file .......

income tax returns every year. If a certain percentage of the churches "income " goes to do the so-called "good works" mentioned in the bible each year they remain tax-free. If not, if they're buying real estate they're not using, if they're building $20 million cathedrals, playing the stock market etc. they lose their tax exemption.

The minute the minister, rabbi, preacher etc. starts preaching politics from the pulpit, tax exemption is lost.

Put me in charge of enforcement.

[uponit7771]

10. K&R,

[blogslug]

11. FRC Family Research Council James Dobson, Focus on the Family, Tony perkins, ect

From my OP last month:

https://www.propublica.org/article/family-research-council-irs-church-status

Right-Wing Think Tank Family Research Council Is Now a Church in Eyes of the IRS
(The FRC, a staunch opponent of abortion and LGBTQ rights, joins a growing list of activist groups seeking church status, which allows organizations to shield themselves from financial scrutiny.)

...What is the FRC? Its website sums up the answer to this question in 63 words: “A nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to articulating and advancing a family-centered philosophy of public life. In addition to providing policy research and analysis for the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government, FRC seeks to inform the news media, the academic community, business leaders, and the general public about family issues that affect the nation from a biblical worldview.”

In the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, though, it is also a church, with Perkins as its religious leader.

According to documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act and given to ProPublica, the FRC filed an application to change its status to an “association of churches,” a designation commonly used by groups with member churches like the Southern Baptist Convention, in March 2020. The agency approved the change a few months later.

The FRC is one of a growing list of activist groups to seek church status, a designation that comes with the ability for an organization to shield itself from financial scrutiny. Once the IRS blessed it as an association of churches, the FRC was no longer required to file a public tax return, known as a Form 990, revealing key staffer salaries, the names of board members and related organizations, large payments to independent contractors and grants the organization has made. Unlike with other charities, IRS investigators can’t initiate an audit on a church unless a high-level Treasury Department official has approved the investigation...

[2naSalit]

12. I can think of a large...

List of churches that should be reviewed and, probably, taxed.

[Novara]

13. Just eliminate all "religious" tax exemptions, period.

[dalton99a]

14. Kick

https://archive.ph/lkVHC