This post offers a round-up of some of the news and comment from today and yesterday on the Grassley investigation regarding six "mega-ministries" for possible abuse of their tax-exempt status. Excerpts from each piece are included, without any commentary from me for now (my earlier post on this matter is here). I may update this post later today with other stories.
Today
1. Associated Press:
Bishop Eddie Long, one of several ministers targeted by a Senate investigation into possible financial wrongdoing, called the request for records unjust and intrusive.
In a brief address to his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia during a Sunday service, Long said Sen. Charles Grassley's request for financial information was "an attack on our religious freedom and privacy rights."
It was Long's first comment on the investigation beyond a statement issued last week saying he would cooperate with the request. . . .
Grassley said he is not interested in religion or doctrine, only the tax issues. But Long isn't buying it.
[Creflo] Dollar said he has released his church's finances in response to the Senate investigation. He said his salary comes from personal investments, including businesses and real estate ventures. He said the church did give him a Rolls Royce, which he uses largely for special occasions.
2. Los Angeles Times:
Grassley, a Christian, said that he believed in the idea of a "humble church and a humble minister spreading the Gospel" but that the inquiry was not motivated by his personal beliefs. Rather, he said, it is part of a broader concern about the transparency of nonprofit organizations. In recent years, the committee has probed the financial records of United Way, the American Red Cross, the Smithsonian and the Nature Conservancy.
"I have a constitutional responsibility to see that taxes are being enforced," Grassley said. "Churches are no different to other nonprofit groups -- they have to abide by tax rules."
Part of the difficulty, observers say, is that tax rules have not caught up with the fact that many ministries across the U.S. now operate as corporations. Mega-church pastors run multimillion-dollar enterprises, selling not just Bibles, DVDs and paintings, but gym memberships, nutrition classes and the use of banquet facilities. Some refer to themselves not just as pastors but as CEOs.
"They are taking market principles, setting themselves up as corporations, and yet they don't want to be taxed -- they don't want to have accountability," said Fredrick Harris, a professor of political science at Columbia University. "They are blurring the line between profit and nonprofit." . . .
Dollar's defiance has won him support from ministers across the nation, many of whom fear that such an investigation could represent a first step toward greater government regulation. Even among those who welcome the scrutiny -- arguing that a Senate investigation is long overdue -- there is concern that the inquiry could lead to greater oversight of all churches.
In the 1980s, there was an outcry from the religious broadcasting industry when the government held hearings to determine whether tax codes governing ministries needed to be strengthened -- after allegations that popular televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker reaped large profits from "The P.T.L. Club," a Christian television program. A House ways and means subcommittee eventually decided the laws were adequate.
3. St. Pete Times Editorial
Politicians should be careful when delving into religious matters, but Grassley has raised some legitimate issues about enforcement of tax laws. While religious institutions have constitutional protection against certain taxation, they are also expected not to abuse their special status. In fact, while Grassley is looking into such matters, he should add the Church of Scientology to the list. . . .
The issue is not only one of legality but also fairness. Every tax dollar a ministry improperly avoids paying is a dollar added to everyone else's tax bill. And the amounts are huge. In the four years leading up to its victory 1993 over the IRS, Scientology reported revenues of $1.1-billion, which have undoubtedly grown since then.
There is no reason to believe that Grassley, an independent-minded conservative, will carry his investigation too far or question legitimate tax-exemptions of the many religious organizations that use their money for charitable work. In fact, Congress could boost the credibility of religious giving by exposing those who abuse people's generosity for personal gain.
Coverage from Sunday is below the fold.