In In re Tax Exemption Application of Westboro Baptist Church, (KS Ct. App., July 25, 2008), the Kansas Court of Appeals agreed with the state's Board of Tax Appeals that a pickup truck used by the Westboro Baptist Church to transport church members and signs for the church's high profile picketing of military funerals and other events is taxable personal property. The signs, in "acrimonious language", express the church's view that "God has punished and will continue to punish the United States because of the country's willingness to condone homosexuality." Kansas law grants a tax exemption to property that is used exclusively for religious purposes. Rejecting Free Exercise and Establishment Clause claims, the court concluded that the church's picketing activities have substantial amounts of political and secular content in addition to expressing religious beliefs, and thus do not qualify for the exemption.
Yesterdays Wichita Eagle , reporting on the decision, said that church officials will appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court even though only about $130 per year in taxes is at issue. Church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper said that the principle of taxing religion is at stake, but that it probably did not really matter because the end of the world will come soon. (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: In upholding the Board of Tax Appeals, the court did find that BOTA's labelling of signs as nonreligious when church members believed them to be religious was an Establishment Clause violation. However, the court found this to be harmless error.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Westboro Baptist Church Loses Tax Appeal
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2 comments:
This was the right decision. If churches want to be politically active, whicb I believe is not their purpose, then they should pay taxes like any other political entity.
If the American church is so concerned with the political situation in American, then why not take some of the billions spent on clergy and church buildings and invest that into social-need programs, which would help relieve the burden on tax payers and fed-social programs?
The church as a whole is the morality, right-living and Christ compass for the world...if the church doesn't stand up for what is right, just, and good then who will? The problem with most church bodies is that they have chosen to be identified as 501c3 non-profit church organizations which are ficticious, artificial entities (corporations)of the state and this is a major reason the churches are having the trouble they are having today. They have asked Caesar come between Christ and His church. 508c1 in the Internal Revenue Code already identifies the church as tax exempt so why do the "clergy" go and ask to be something that Christ never intended?
And yes, I would agree with dwilli58 with regards to reaching out to the people vs. adding more buildings and staff. Maybe the church needs to return to the house churches in the book of Acts and sell their assests, practice loving one another daily, and go to the people instead of asking the people to come to their "program" or church service. Is it said, "Go into all the world and make disciples..." or is it said, "Ask the world to come to you so you can make them converts..."?
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