Tax Law
IRS Clears Church for Hosting Obama Speech
Posted May 22, 2008, 07:38 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The Internal Revenue Service has determined that the United Church of Christ did not violate tax laws by hosting a speech by Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama spoke to 10,000 church members on faith and politics last June, report the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
The IRS said the church had taken several steps to comply with the law barring nonprofits from endorsing candidates or intervening in elections. Churches that don’t comply may lose their tax-exempt status.
The church had invited Obama to speak before he became a presidential candidate and had warned the audience that they should not engage in political activities. The church's legal counsel had also advised Obama on ground rules for the speech in which he addressed how his personal faith intersected with his public life.
The conservative Alliance Defense Fund is asking preachers to take a stand on political candidates on Sept. 28 in hopes of finding a test case to challenge the tax law.
A hat tip to TaxProf Blog, which posted the news stories and the IRS determination letter (PDF).
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