Pass it on
If you're angry that a church can meddle with another state's political statutes, here's something that you can do.
To report the LDS Church to the IRS, simply take 5 minutes to print these articles out and any others you can find:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10839546
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10842051
Then print and fill out http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf
List the taxpayer as:
Thomas S. Monson, et al
50 East North Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
List his occupation as President and the business as the ridiculously full name of the church (same address).
Check the boxes for False Exemption and Public/Political Corruption.
Then in the Comments section demand that the LDS Church be fined and their tax-exempt status revoked for repeated and blatant violations of the IRS's separate of church and state rules, and for conspiring to interfere with a state's political process.
Check Yes under "Are books/records available?" and write in "campaign finance records."
You don't have to provide any of your own personal info. Mail the form and the printed articles to:
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888
So I have seen many different interpretations on what a 501(c)3 organization can do regarding elections and politics. It is a very fine line. The IRS produced publication # 1828 specifically for churches about their tax status, with several call outs about how they could put their tax status in jeopardy, see the following:
Substantial Lobbying Activity
In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). An IRC section 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive offices), or by the public in a referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.
A church or religious organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.
This is what has gotten other churches into problems in the past.
To report the LDS Church to the IRS, simply take 5 minutes to print these articles out and any others you can find:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10839546
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10842051
Then print and fill out http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf
List the taxpayer as:
Thomas S. Monson, et al
50 East North Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
List his occupation as President and the business as the ridiculously full name of the church (same address).
Check the boxes for False Exemption and Public/Political Corruption.
Then in the Comments section demand that the LDS Church be fined and their tax-exempt status revoked for repeated and blatant violations of the IRS's separate of church and state rules, and for conspiring to interfere with a state's political process.
Check Yes under "Are books/records available?" and write in "campaign finance records."
You don't have to provide any of your own personal info. Mail the form and the printed articles to:
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888
So I have seen many different interpretations on what a 501(c)3 organization can do regarding elections and politics. It is a very fine line. The IRS produced publication # 1828 specifically for churches about their tax status, with several call outs about how they could put their tax status in jeopardy, see the following:
Substantial Lobbying Activity
In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). An IRC section 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive offices), or by the public in a referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.
A church or religious organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.
This is what has gotten other churches into problems in the past.