A federal district court in Atlanta yesterday upheld an Establishment Clause challenge to a Georgia statute that grants sales tax exemptions for purchases of "Holy Bibles, testaments and similar books commonly recognized as being Holy Scripture." The statute also exempts the sale of religious newspapers, where the paper is owned and operated by a religious denomination. The case was brought by the ACLU of Georgia on behalf of a retired Atlanta librarian, and on behalf of the owner of a metaphysical bookshop. They successfully argued that the law unlawfully discriminates against sellers of other philosophical, religious and spiritual works. (See prior posting.) In reporting on the decision yesterday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that after lawsuit was filed, Georgia Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham, responding to an inquiry, suspended the sales tax on purchases of the Quran. His office has not received inquiries about other religious or spiritual texts.
UPDATE: The opinion in the case, Budlong v. Graham, is now available online. [Thanks to How Appealing.]
