{"id":576819,"date":"2021-06-29T18:20:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T22:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=576819"},"modified":"2021-06-29T18:20:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T22:20:38","slug":"members-of-congress-blast-irs-for-denying-tax-exempt-status-to-christian-nonprofit-warn-taxing-churches-could-be-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/members-of-congress-blast-irs-for-denying-tax-exempt-status-to-christian-nonprofit-warn-taxing-churches-could-be-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Members Of Congress Blast IRS For Denying Tax-Exempt Status To Christian Nonprofit, Warn Taxing Churches Could Be Next"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmembers-of-congress-blast-irs-for-denying-tax-exempt-status-to-christian-nonprofit-warn-taxing-churches-could-be-next%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=576819&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233687358.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Several Republican members of Congress accused the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last week of blatant political bias by&nbsp;denying tax-exempt status to a Christian nonprofit, and warned the decision could set a precedent for taxing churches.<\/p>\n<p>In May, the IRS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/christian-non-profit-rejected-for-tax-exempt-status-by-irs-bibles-teachings-affiliated-with-the-republican-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">denied<\/a> a request for tax exempt status from the Texas-based group&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/christiansengaged.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christians Engaged<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Christians-Engaged-IRS-Determination-Letter_Redacted.pdf\">stating<\/a> that the \u201cBible\u2019s teachings are typically affiliated with the Republican Party and candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/roy.house.gov\/sites\/roy.house.gov\/files\/Sent_Bicameral%20Roy%20Letter%20to%20IRS_Christians%20Engaged_6.25.21.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">letter of rebuke<\/a>, sent by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and signed by 14 other members of Congress including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), urged IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig to personally review the case and terminate those who were involved in the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe write today to express extreme concern regarding a recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determination on the tax-exempt status of Christians Engaged, a nonprofit organization in Texas. We urge you to personally review this determination, and remove the individual, or individuals, responsible for the blatantly biased, discriminatory, and flawed reasoning that led to that determination,\u201d the letter began.<\/p>\n<p>The letter went on to single out IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Stephen Martin, who sent a letter claiming Christians Engaged was ineligible for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) because it is \u201cengaged in prohibited political campaign intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpecifically, Mr. Martin alleges that Christians Engaged\u2019s \u2018\u2026bible teachings are typically affiliated with the [Republican] party and candidates,&#8217;\u201d the letter continued. \u201cAmong the issues that the IRS determined to be \u2018associated with political party platforms\u2019 were \u2018the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and biblical justice.\u2019 These issues have always been at the core of Christian belief and classifying them as inherently political is patently absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the IRS applied this interpretation broadly, it would jeopardize the tax-exempt status of thousands of Christian churches across the country,\u201d the members of Congress warned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/were-not-ready-pastor-andrew-brunson-predicts-worsening-religious-persecution-in-u-s-regardless-of-election-outcome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2018We\u2019re Not Ready\u2019: Pastor Andrew Brunson Predicts Worsening Religious Persecution In U.S. Regardless Of Election Outcome<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last week, four Republican members of Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/unconscionable-gop-colleagues-sound-off-on-rep-huffman-for-threatening-tax-exempt-status-of-catholic-church\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">denounced<\/a> Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) to The Daily Wire after he suggested the Catholic Church should be punitively stripped of its tax-exempt status after the&nbsp;United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted to draft a document that could rebuke pro-abortion Catholic politicians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they\u2019re going to politically weaponize religion by \u2018rebuking\u2019 Democrats who support women\u2019s reproductive choice, then a \u2018rebuke\u2019 of their tax-exempt status may be in order,\u201d Huffman tweeted, as The Daily Wire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/house-democrat-suggests-stripping-catholic-church-of-tax-exempt-status-if-biden-denied-communion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), who was a signatory to Roy\u2019s letter, told The Daily Wire regarding Huffman\u2019s comments: \u201cIt is unconscionable that House Democrats are attempting to scare churches into silence simply because they are angry over their pro-life religious views. Religious organizations should have an absolute right to express their First Amendment rights without fear of persecution from the IRS or federal government. Rep. Huffman\u2019s threat to remove the USCCB\u2019s tax-exempt status must be refuted. Religious institutions deserve our respect, and they deserve the freedom to express their beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/unconscionable-gop-colleagues-sound-off-on-rep-huffman-for-threatening-tax-exempt-status-of-catholic-church\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2018Unconscionable\u2019: GOP Colleagues Sound Off On House Democrat For Threatening Tax-Exempt Status Of Catholic Church<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several Republican members of Congress accused the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last week of blatant political bias by\u00a0denying tax-exempt status to a Christian nonprofit, and warned the decision could set &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313686,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233687358.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Members Of Congress Blast IRS For Denying Tax-Exempt Status To Christian Nonprofit, Warn Taxing Churches Could Be Next","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-576819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233687358.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Members Of Congress Blast IRS For Denying Tax-Exempt Status To Christian Nonprofit, Warn Taxing Churches Could Be Next","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}