Should Churches Be Taxed?

[branford]

17. The area of law is a little wobbly, and not my personal area of expertise.

It is my understanding that non-profits cannot engage in campaigning, but that does not mean they cannot hold positions on issues of political importance such as abortion, same sex marriage, foreign policy, etc. The distinction between these types of activities is more than a small nuance.

Moreover, as a practical matter, when non-profits sometimes "inadvertently" campaign, it usually is politely ignored by the authorities. The reason is simple, strict enforcement would hurt everyone, regardless of political persuasion. For instance, if the authorities tried punish the Mormons, politically active liberal groups like Planned Parenthood and numerous environmental groups would invariably suffer a similar and unpleasant fate. Think of the current state of affairs as a sort of mutually assured destruction.

I would also note that a number of non-profits actually maintain a related, yet legally separate entity, for campaigning and lobbying purposes. The most prominent example is the NRA. While the actual NRA is still meticulously a shooting sports and gun safety organization, it's NRA-ILA political arm is a political powerhouse, yet not tax exempt.