April 8, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A federal judge has ruled that the I.R.S. properly pulled the tax exemption of a New York church after it ran newspaper advertisements opposing Bill Clinton as a 1992 Presidential candidate. Under the law, churches and charities must not participate in political campaigns in behalf of, or in opposition to, candidates for public office.
The I.R.S. revoked the tax exemption of Branch Ministries — operating as the Church at Pierce Creek — in early 1995. The service said the ads, which ran in USA Today and The Washington Times four days before the 1992 Presidential election, had inappropriately crossed the line into political activity.
Under the headline: “Christians Beware. Do not put the economy ahead of the Ten Commandments,” the advertisements listed Mr. Clinton’s stand on abortion, homosexuality, and other issues. The ads concluded: “Bill Clinton is promoting policies that are in rebellion to God’s laws.”
The fine print at the bottom of the ads informed readers: “Tax-deductible donations for this advertisement gladly accepted.”
Branch Ministries took the I.R.S. to court, arguing that the church had been a victim of discrimination. It cited as evidence a memo by a federal employee that seemed to describe the church as a “militant right” organization. It also said that the I.R.S. had failed to take similar action against other churches.
But the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia backed the revenue service, ruling that the church had failed to prove discrimination. In its opinion, the court said the church had been unable “to provide any evidence that there are any similarly situated churches” that kept their tax-exempt status.
A copy of the decision in the case, Branch Ministries, Inc., et al. v. Charles O. Rossotti, is available on the court’s World-Wide Web site at http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/district-court.html.
