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Why? It's all about federal US politics (national government, not state or local governments). The road to today's situation is winding and dark. https://www.f

Why? It's all about federal US politics (national government, not state or local governments). The road to today's situation is winding and dark. https://www.forpurposelaw.com/501c3-political-ban-history/ https://www.forpurposelaw.com/501c3-political-ban-history/ The current restriction is based on a hastily worded amendment to the tax code from 1954 by one Lyndon Baines Johnson, who later became president when JFK was murdered. It reduces to a few principles. 1. orgs should use their tax-deductible contributions in support of their stated missions. 2. orgs cannot be set up for "selfish" reasons. Because of the present and historical culture of graft (the buying and selling of political favors) in the US, we basically assume that anybody who promotes a candidate gets something in return. 3. confusion in the US Senate in 1954 about the difference between an org's "primary" mission and other missions. There's also an undercurrent of church-state separation. By dollar volume, houses of worship are very big recipients of tax-exempt contributions. Politicians fear the influence of people in pulpits, so it's easier to prohibit that. In May 2017, the current president, Donald Trump, issued an executive order weakening the restrictions on political speech. He did this under pressure from his political party and from the "evangelical" churches who support him.

lisptw102019 7y ago
Church-state is related, but different. 'Churches' (this is a short reply so I don't have the definition handy) actually get additional benefits on top of a 501(c)3. Specifically, if they follow certain rules they don't even have to file a proper return. They still have to throw some numbers the way of the IRS, but in addition to not having to file, religious orgs do not have to publish their returns (normal 501s must do so, part of the 'transparency' of their tax break is they must show CEO salaries, salaries of certain top paid employees, and other expenditures).
- jtbayly 7y ago
  Actually, it’s not quite that they get additional benefits. Churches are automatically tax exempt, with no need to apply for 501c3 status, even. In other words, a better way to look at it is that the gov doesn’t have the right to interfere, so they don’t.
- OliverJones 7y ago
  The political-speech restriction and other non-profit rules for houses of worship are the same as for the registered 501(c)(3) charities. But they don't have to seek approval from the IRS, and they don't have to file form 990s every year. (Form 990 is sorta like a corporate tax return.) In many of these situations, the denominational office has sought approval from the IRS, and has an Employer ID number that appears in the nonprofit search. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ This is helpful for getting access to various corporate nonprofit donations. For example, Microsoft Office for nonprofits is very inexpensive.

lisptw102019 7y ago

Church-state is related, but different. 'Churches' (this is a short reply so I don't have the definition handy) actually get additional benefits on top of a 501(c)3. Specifically, if they follow certain rules they don't even have to file a proper return. They still have to throw some numbers the way of the IRS, but in addition to not having to file, religious orgs do not have to publish their returns (normal 501s must do so, part of the 'transparency' of their tax break is they must show CEO salaries, salaries of certain top paid employees, and other expenditures).

jtbayly 7y ago
Actually, it’s not quite that they get additional benefits. Churches are automatically tax exempt, with no need to apply for 501c3 status, even. In other words, a better way to look at it is that the gov doesn’t have the right to interfere, so they don’t.
OliverJones 7y ago
The political-speech restriction and other non-profit rules for houses of worship are the same as for the registered 501(c)(3) charities. But they don't have to seek approval from the IRS, and they don't have to file form 990s every year. (Form 990 is sorta like a corporate tax return.) In many of these situations, the denominational office has sought approval from the IRS, and has an Employer ID number that appears in the nonprofit search. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ This is helpful for getting access to various corporate nonprofit donations. For example, Microsoft Office for nonprofits is very inexpensive.