Write-Offs:

April 14, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute

Two churches say the IRS has asked them whether they illegally engaged in political activity in last fall’s presidential campaign. In February, the revenue service asked the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, in Miami, whether church officials had endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry. The First Baptist Church of Springdale, in Arkansas, also said it had been contacted by the IRS. In a sermon, the church’s pastor compared the views of President Bush with those of Mr. Kerry. Both churches deny any wrongdoing. The IRS said in February that it is examining 80 nonprofit groups to see if they had been illegally involved in political campaigns.
The IRS has threatened to take the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to court as a result of the group’s refusal to comply with its request for information. In October, the IRS wrote the NAACP that it was investigating whether a speech by its chairman that criticized President Bush constituted improper political-campaign intervention. In its new letter, the IRS warns the civil-rights group, which has refused to participate in the investigation, that it may start legal proceedings. The NAACP says that it has done nothing improper, and has asked the IRS to drop its review.