CHURCH AT PIERCE CREEK V. COMMISSIONER: ALTAR CALL FOR D.C. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

Only once since 1954 has a church had its tax-exempt status revoked for violating I.R.C. Sec. 501(c)(3)'s prohibition on publishing or distributing statements in opposition to a candidate for public office. Following a 1992 church tax examination by the IRS, the Church at Pierce Creek's tax-exemption was revoked in early 1995 for newspaper advertisements referencing then-Governor Bill Clinton's views on homosexuality and abortion among other things, deemed by the tribunal as "prohibited intervention in a political campaign". The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the D.C. District Courts' ruling that the revocation was within the IRS's statutory authority. Although most new non-profit organizations are required to apply for advanced recognition of Section 501(c)(3) status under I.R.C. Sec. 508(a), churches are automatically exempt from taxation by virtue of I.R.C. Sec.508(c)(1)(A). The Court, in upholding the Church's revocation, indicated that no law precluded the Church from "reapplying for a prospective determination of its tax-exempt status…provided, of course, that it renounces future involvement in political campaigns". (341 U.S. App. D.C. 166). By so holding, the Court has placed a burden upon churches and their members not provided for in the Code. Since churches are automatically deemed Sec. 501(c)(3) organizations, there are no punitive measures that can be taken against them under the current statutory scheme. The Court, in overstepping its bounds, has usurped the legislative process and established a chilling restriction on religious liberty, notwithstanding their casual assurance that the "revocation is likely to be more symbolic than substantial". (341 U.S. App. D.C. 166).