IRS, Why Aren’t you Enforcing the Law against Churches engaging in Partisan Politics?

[riqster]

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/irs-why-arent-you-enforcing-the-law-against-churches-engaging-in-partisan-politics/

Yet another example of churches abusing their tax-exempt status, and the IRS doing nothing about it.

[leftyohiolib]

1. some churches are telling their followers who to vote for, videotaping the offense and sending the

tape to the irs and daring them to do something about it. they want this to be an issue for the election

[Nye Bevan]

2. How do you know the IRS is doing nothing?

I assume they keep audits and investigations confidential.

[riqster]

3. How many churches have lost their tax-exempt status? That shows you how much they care...

http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/pastors_churches_and_politics4pg.pdf


Through 2007, only ONE church had had its status revoked.

[Igel]

4. Jesus isn't on the official ballot.

The IRS will look at this, at pertinent case law, the language of the law, and ignore it.

Notice what's missing. It doesn't say not to vote for Obama for president. It says not to trust him for all your "greatest needs".

It doesn't say to vote for Romney (crud, I nearly wrote "McCain&quot .

Once you get beyond that it's a non-partisan argument over government and its role, but I haven't the foggiest what, exactly, that church would actually say. The word "greatest" throws me, because I don't know if they consider their greatest needs to be food and shelter or forgiveness of sins and salvation.

There might be a hint of partisanship in the "Obama as the One" meme that circulated 4 years ago. But that strikes me as less partisanship and more mockery.

There's a mighty fine line there to not cross, but I'm pretty sure that the flyer didn't cross it.