Paul Wilczynski's Observations

IRS targets UCC for Obama appearance

The United Church of Christ website reports ...

The Internal Revenue Service has notified the United Church of Christ's national offices in Cleveland, Ohio, that the IRS has opened an investigation into U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's address at the UCC's 2007 General Synod as the church engaging in "political activities."

In the IRS letter dated Feb. 20, the IRS said it was initiating a church tax inquiry "because reasonable belief exists that the United Church of Christ has engaged in political activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status."

The Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, called the investigation "disturbing" but said the investigation would reveal that the church did nothing improper or illegal. ...

The article goes on to say that

• The invitation to Obama was extended a year before he became a Democratic presidential candidate.
• Associate General Minister Edith A. Guffey, who serves as administrator of the biennial General Synod, admonished the crowd that Obama's appearance was not to be a campaign-related event and that electioneering would not be tolerated.

While I totally understand and support the IRS investigating churches that support a specific candidate and encourage their members to vote for a specific candidate, I can't see how this even comes close.

I wonder how the IRS came to start this investigation.

A tip of the hat to Rev. Adam Tierney-Eliot.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:38 AM