Washington D.C., Nov 27, 2018 / 16:00 pm
The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a motion to intervene after lawyers from the Freedom from Religion Foundation sued the IRS, arguing that churches should not be exempt from having to file tax returns and other forms with the IRS.
Currently, churches and religious institutions in the United States are tax exempt and do not have to file these forms.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation lawsuit, Nonbelief Relief v. Kautter, was filed with the District Court for the District of Columbia in October on behalf of Nonbelief Relief, Inc., which describes itself as "a humanitarian agency for atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and their supporters." David Kautter, the acting commissioner of the IRS, was named as respondent to the suit.
The suit argues that allowing churches to be exempt from filing tax returns is a violation of the Establishment Clause, as it "results in obligations imposed on secular non-profits, including [Nonbelief Relief], that are not imposed on churches."