Summary:
Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would amend a decades-old provision within the Internal Revenue Service regarding churches, pastors and nonprofits.
North Carolina Representative Mark Harris and Oklahoma Senator James Lankford introduced the bicameral Free Speech Fairness Act Monday. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas co-sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and 16 Republicans co-sponsored it in the House.
“Now that we have a Republican trifecta, [in the House, Senate and White House], [the bill sponsors are] hoping to have momentum behind it,” a Harris spokesperson told Newsweek.
Newsweek reached out to the IRS and Lankford’s and Cruz’s offices for comment.
Why It Matters
The bill would remove the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 tax code provision.
Named after President Lyndon B. Johnson, the amendment prohibits all 501©(3) tax-exempt organizations—like churches, where contributions are tax-deductible—from supporting or opposing candidates in political campaigns. It was enacted to prevent tax-deductible money from being used in the process. Such organizations can still participate in electoral processes.
During his first term in 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, Promoting Free Speech and Liberty, to ease restrictions on religious organizations and nonprofits and provide more protections.
Despite Trump’s claims that he “got rid” of the Johnson Amendment, it remains in place and can only be changed by Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court.
MAGA wants churches to be centers of indoctrination.
Hence the liquidation of the DOE. Gotta keep’em dumb and obedient.
I know it’s confusing, but seriously, the DOE is the Department of Energy, please stop calling the Department of Education that.
many already are–it’s not enforced and prosecuted now because it’s political and career suicide to ‘go after churches’ (who violate these rules).
So, giving “Churches” free and unrestricted motive to pay no taxes, like the old law was enforced.
Being a Prosperity Evangelist is the single best, and greatest grift in the US.
This is just a way for MAGA Nazis to extort money out of churches.
“That’s a nice tax-exempt status ya got there. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it.”
I guess I’m a church
Amen.
The best part about this? If you are a 501©(3), support the wrong candidate and/or aren’t the correct type of christian church, bam, there goes your 501©(3) status!
To take all the power away from all churches/religion, just get everyone to stop donating. Just have to figure out how to accomplish that.
Trump may have figured that out… tariffs. People won’t donate if they’re subsistence living.
Lmao if you think churches don’t already have political power and spend political money, you are crazy
Source: I am an exmormon who actively participated in Prop 8 activism in CA many years ago
So two things. Firstly glad ya got out of that, secondly fuck you.
Joking aside how deep into the participation were ya? Cause I’m just curious how much of a shit show it was, I know they started bussing pissants from out of state in after awhile but I ain’t got much of a clue what it looked like internally. Just kinda curious.
