Thursday, August 26, 2004

Ann Murphy (Gonzaga) has published Campaign Signs and the Collection Plate–Never the Twain Shall Meet?, 1 Pitt. Tax. Rev. 35 (2003). Here is part of the Introduction:

Churches, houses of worship, and other tax-exempt entities must refrain from participating in political activity and endorsing or opposing political candidates if they wish to maintain their tax-exempt status. If a tax-exempt organization violates this proscription, the penalty is the revocation of the entity’s tax-exempt status. Representative Jones’ resolutions lift this ban for churches and other houses of worship, but not for any other tax-exempt entities. This article finds it inadvisable to lift the current ban both because churches and other houses of worship should not become campaign outlets for politicians, and because “political activity” would be impossible to monitor, potentially allowing churches to easily skirt campaign finance laws….