Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt says the Internal Revenue Service has assured him it won't revoke the tax-exempt status of religious organizations after June's Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.
Last month Pruitt wrote to the IRS commissioner asking if the tax-exempt status of charities, churches, and religiously affiliated universities could be in jeopardy based on comments made by the U.S. solicitor general during oral arguments before the high court.
“Although federal statutes also grant your agency the authority to enforce federal tax law, they do not grant it the discretion to engage in selective or discriminatory treatment of organizations based on their religious beliefs,” Pruitt wrote. “Solicitor General [Donald] Verrilli's comments nonetheless raise the possibility that your agency may revoke the tax-exempt status of the thousands of organizations that disagree with same-sex marriage. The First Amendment expressly forbids actions that would "prohibit the free exercise" of religion—including a policy of hunting down and taking away the tax-exempt status of thousands of religious institutions that refuse to violate their religious beliefs regarding same-sex marriage.”
IRS commissioner John Koskinen responded with his own letter, where he told Pruitt the Supreme Court ruling doesn't change how the law applies to the status of 501(c)(3) organizations.
“To qualify for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3), an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific, or other charitable purposes,” Koskinen wrote. “In addition, its net earnings may not inure to the benefit of any private individual or shareholder, no substantial part of its activity may be attempting to influence legislation, and, as discussed above, the organization may not intervene in political campaigns.”
Pruitt called the move a victory for religious freedom.
“This formal statement from the IRS provides needed assurance that their First Amendment rights will be protected,” Pruitt said in a statement. “To paraphrase President Reagan, we will trust but verify the comments of the IRS and continue to monitor the agency’s actions to ensure Americans aren’t targeted unfairly for exercising their religious beliefs in accordance with the First Amendment.”
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