Clergy Housing Tax Break Seen As Unconstitutional
His analysis is that the parsonage exclusion violates the Establishment Clause and that the arguments that the Free Exercise Clause mitigates the concern do not stand up. Not every benefit to religious organizations violates the Establishment Clause. The treatment of churches as exempt 501(c)(3) organizations is part of a larger scheme to exempt organizations that can be viewed as serving the public good. Churches are exempt, but so is the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
On the other hand, churches are not required to file Form 990 or apply for exempt status and the IRS has to jump through enough hoops to initiate a church audit that it pretty much doesn’t bother. This relatively hands-off policy recognizes the free exercise clause.
Argument For The Constitutionality Of The Parsonage Exclusion
One of the issues that I have been following since the beginning of my blogging days is the Freedom From Religion Foundation's quixotic seeming quest to have the...
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Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.