The Book Your Church Doesnt Want You to Read

The Tax-Free Ride
The Book
combined their efforts and organized into a powerful voting bloc.
They have tied up so many senators and representatives, having
their own religious lobbying groups, that it has been next to impossible
to enforce any kind of tax laws or tax violations against them,
allowing them to continue to gain in power with unlimited funds.
One of the clearly defined laws applicable to tax-exempt religious
organizations is that churches cannot engage in any political activity
and cannot engage in more than an insignificant amount of lobbying
activities. This is stated in IRS Manual sections 501(c)3 and 170(c)2.
Thus, according to law, if a church intervenes in a political campaign
or engages in substantial lobbying, then its tax-exempt status is
jeopardized. So, simply put, section 501(c)3 church organizations are
subject to a ban on political activities, period.
..,
According to the Overview of Tax Rules Applicable to Exempt Organizations
that was prepared for the House Committee on Ways and
Means, it states:
Prohibited political activity involves the participation or intervention,
directly or indirectly, in any political campaign on
behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. The
office involved can be national, state, or local; and it is not
required that the election be contested or involve the participation
of political parties.
The critical issue in determining whether an activity constitutes
intervention in a political campaign is whether it reflects
or advances a preference between competing candidates.
A nasty, special Assembly election in California in 1991 provides
us with a model case of typical gross violation of established law
regarding tax-exempt organizations. B.T. Collins, running for the
Fifth Assembly seat, faced the wrath of Rev. Glenn Cole of Capitol
Christian Center in Sacramento, who used his tax-exempt church
property and pulpit to endorse Barbara Alby, contrary to the law
that prohibits such intervention in a political campaign by a church
enjoying tax-free privileges.
Rev. Cole has freely admitted to the media that members of his
flock are readily solicited to vote for the candidate of his choice.
Furthermore, Rev. Cole, in violation of the tax-exempt laws, has a
history of using his sermons to support like-minded Republican
candidates. In 1990, Rev. Cole and his church helped Republican
Assemblyman David Knowles, who was a member of his Capitol
Christian Center, defeat veteran Assemblyman Norm Waters, a
Democrat from Plymouth, California.
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