The IRS Says It Will Finally Enforce the Rules Barring Pastors Endorsing Candidates from the Pulpit

[jberryhill]

96. So what?

You seem to be confused.

First off, there are a lot of "non-profit businesses". All that means is that they don't pay shareholders. The guy who runs Goodwill Industries is extremely wealthy, for example.

Not all "non-profit businesses" are tax exempt. There are a lot of political non-profits, and they pay taxes.

"Non-profit business" is not a phrase which is congruent with "charity".

The tax code of this country provides a tax exemption to some non-profit businesses, so long as they do not participate in politics. If they participate in political activities, they pay taxes just like all political non-profits.

Churches are not tax exempt because of the First Amendment. They are tax exempt because they fall in with other non-political non-profit organizations. They LOSE that status when they participate in politics.

But your understanding is pretty amusing.

There is no difference between going to a theatrical performance, and paying money to do so, and going to a church, and paying to do so. In the first example, the money goes into the pocket of the theater owner who pays expenses and keeps the rest. In the second example, the money goes into the pockets of whomever runs the church, who pays expenses and keeps the rest.

What you are missing in your "not supposed to be" is that charities are not supposed to be endorsing politicians either. If they do, they get taxed. There is nothing special about whether it is a "church", a "fraternity", or any other species of non-profit business. In order to maintain their tax exempt status, they have to stay out of politics.