IRS In Trouble: Refusing To Release Church Investigations Procedures

IRS In Trouble: Refusing To Release Church Investigations Procedures

This could be the beginning of many things to come. Are you ready for this? Government watchdog groups have filed a motion in federal court to compel the IRS to reveal how it determines when to initiate “church investigations” after accusing the tax-collecting agency of “stonewalling” efforts to bring to light its procedures.

The motion, filed jointly Friday by the Alliance Defending Freedom and Judicial Watch, came in response to a legal settlement struck in 2014 with an atheist organization, which said the IRS had “resolved the signature authority issue necessary to initiate church examinations.” In its 2014 lawsuit the atheist group demanded that the IRS enforce the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits tax-exempt organizations from making political endorsements for elected office. It authorizes the IRS to regulate sermons and other speech to ensure churches comply with the provisions of their designations.

“The IRS also has adopted procedures for reviewing, evaluating and determining whether to initiate church investigations,” the Freedom From Religion Foundation said in a press release. “The public has a right to know about any new IRS guidelines for investigating the practice of our basic First Amendment freedoms.”  A 2014 letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen signed by nine members of Congress asked the agency to provide a copy of the rules for investigating churches.

“Our country has a long history of religious leaders speaking freely on matters of public discourse,” the letter reads. “Whether it is Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leading the charge against segregation, or preachers opposed to the Vietnam War, Americans expect their religious leaders to be able to speak freely to their flock without government oversight. The recent agreement by the IRS seems to impinge on these fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion, speech, and assembly.

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