Had It Been Mike Gravel, It Would Have Been Considered an Act of Charity
A nonprofit Chicago film center’s concern about losing its tax-exempt status was enough to compel it to postpone its scheduled January screening of a documentary about Barack Obama’s 2006 trip to Africa. Now comes word that the IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ, of which Obama is a member, regarding the senator’s speech at a church convention last June.
A spokesman for the Obama campaign, Tommy Vietor, said the candidate “spoke to his church’s convention about his personal spiritual journey….This was not a campaign event.”
It is considered unusual for the federal agency to investigate an entire denomination. The agency has previously investigated individual churches and ministers who have made comments about politicians from the pulpit. In rare cases, churches have been fined or have lost their tax-free status.
I’d think that a quick look at the transcript or videotape would be enough to determine whether Senator Obama talked politics or not. Regardless, doesn’t the IRS have better things to do than harass a church about a speech by one of its members? Especially this time of year? | 501(c)
Tags: Barack Obama, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, nonprofits and tax-exempt statusRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Politics
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