Why is the IRS not all up in the mormons grill?

[Ioo]

The Mormon Church is one of the largest holders of assets and real estate in the world. These actions on Prop 8 are clearly political and now allowed by the IRS...

TAKE THE GOD DAMN TAX-EXEMPT STATUS AWAY FROM THEM NOW.

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Like it or not, the Mormon Church is probably not breaking any laws

Section 501(c)(3) of the US Tax Code, which regulates what non-profits can and cannot do on the political stage, explicitly allows non-profit organizations -- and under the law, religious organizations are no different from Little League, Underwriters' Laboratory and the SPCA -- to be advocates in the public arena when issues relevant to their sphere are part of public discussion. This allows Pee-Wee footbal chapters to advocate bond measures that would support junior sports; this allows the Humane Society to oppose ballot initiatives to cut off funding for animal shelters; this allows groups like the Human Rights Coalition to actively raise money in opposition to bigoted laws.

Under the US Tax Code, there is no legal distinction between the Mormon Church and Equality California: both are non-profit organizations organized as 501(c)(3) corporations. You cannot allow one to advocate on a ballot measure and prohibit the other, as that would be a direct violation of the First Amendment (by either giving special priviledges to a religious group not allowed other non-profits, or by denying rights enjoyed by other non-profits solely on the grounds of it being a religious group.) For any lawsuit to proceed, one must prove that the Mormon Church is exceeding the boundaries of the law, and that is very difficult in the best of cases.

[iamahaingttta]

2. Thank you for that clear explanation.

I was going to use a snarkier tone...

[NorthCarolina]

3. One small correction

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. is not a "Non-Profit" organization, but rather they are more correctly a "Not For Profit" organization in that their books do not have to show zero balance at the end of the tax year as is the case for non-profits. Essentially what that means is that a Not For Profit organization can actually have positive balance sheets (profits). Granted UL is, and has been, in a very tenuous tax position and they have long been aware that their operations could be reassessed at any time. I worked at UL as a product safety engineer for over 28 years and had to make this correction concerning their real tax status many many times during my tenure.

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. UL is a 501(c)(3) corporation

Active Cause lists it as a 501(c)(3) corporation. The statute of who can qualify for 501(c)(3) status explicitly allows for organizations organized with the purpose of "testing for public safety," which is UL's primary purpose.

Legally, there is no distinction between "non-profit" and "not-for-profit." The different terms are often used in a non-legal context to distinguish between organizations that exist as a charity and those that could operate as for-profit but do not.

[ReallyPsychoDad]

5. And the Catholics too...

The local Catholic Church here has 8 "yes on 8" signs all around the building.

It's not that we should worry about government interference with churches so much as church interference with government.