{"id":32013,"date":"2022-09-10T15:52:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/pastors-housing-allowance-avoids-supreme-court-challenge\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:52:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:52:49","slug":"pastors-housing-allowance-avoids-supreme-court-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/pastors-housing-allowance-avoids-supreme-court-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastors\u2019 Housing Allowance Avoids Supreme Court Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tom Rumble photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Aaron Earls<\/em><\/p>\n

Pastors can rest a little easier in their homes today knowing they or their churches won\u2019t have to pay any additional taxes on their residences\u2014for now.<\/p>\n

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit unanimously affirmed the constitutionality of the pastors\u2019 housing allowance in March, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) decided against appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

On their website, Becket, a religious liberty law firm that had been defending the allowance in court, said if FFRF had won, churches and other religious organizations would face nearly $1 billion in new taxes.<\/p>\n

Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, celebrated the end of the current legal battle and the protection of the tax exemption that has been in place for over 60 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tax code has long exempted housing allowances for ministers under the same principle that it exempts housing for soldiers, diplomats, peace corps workers, prison wardens, non-profit presidents, oil executives, school superintendents, teachers, nurses, fishermen, and many more,\u201d said Goodrich.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe court rightly recognized that providing this kind of equal treatment to churches is perfectly constitutional, and churches should be allowed to serve the neediest members of their communities without the tax man breathing down their neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Goodrich, the court found that without the pastors\u2019 housing allowance, the IRS would be forced into \u201cexcessive entanglement\u201d between church and state, as the government \u201cwould need to interrogate ministers on the specifics of their worship activities [and] determine which activities constitute \u2018worship.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Becket represented several religious leaders who intervened in the case, including Chris Butler, pastor of Chicago Embassy Church.<\/p>\n

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See also  3 Practices That Reveal the Power of a Vulnerable Pastor<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The church is not able to pay Butler a full salary but offers him a housing allowance so he can live near the church and the community they serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a victory for all houses of worship that serve needy communities across the country,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful that my church can still be a home for South Side Chicago\u2019s at-risk youth, single mothers, unemployed, homeless, addicted, victims of gang violence and others on the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

FFRF says they remain as committed as ever to their 2016 lawsuit against the IRS over the clergy housing allowance but felt hesitant moving forward at this moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not waving the white flag,\u201d FFRF co-president Annie Gaylor told The Washington Times<\/em>. \u201cBut we\u2019re letting the clock run out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an statement to the Free Beacon<\/em>, Gaylor, the namesake of the housing allowance case, Gaylor v. Mnuchin<\/em>, said, \u201cWe have full confidence in the legal merits of our challenge of the discriminatory pastoral housing allowance privileges. We did not, however, have confidence in the current Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a release on their website, however, they say they\u2019re ending the challenge now to make it possible for \u201canother challenge to be taken in the future, and we hope to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aaron Earls<\/h2>\n

@WardrobeDoor<\/p>\n

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Aaron is a writer for LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n