NT - Politics Is My Religion

[TAXBILLY]

From NSA Newsletter:

But You Don’t Understand: Politics IS My Religion

An ad hoc group of Ohio clergy has asked the IRS to investigate the C Street Center in Washington, D.C., alleging that it is not a church, but rather a boarding house providing low-cost room and board to members of Congress.

In a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, the group challenged the self-proclaimed church's tax-exempt status, voicing concerns about “unconstitutional enmeshment of church and state,” and called on an appropriate Treasury official to begin a church tax inquiry.

“As we understand it, C Street Center has no recognized creed or form of worship, no distinct ecclesiastical government, and no formal code of doctrine,” the letter said. “To the best of our knowledge, it is not led by ordained ministers, and its leadership is not selected based on the completion of any prescribed studies for the preparation of ministers. We are not aware of it holding regular religious services that are open to the public, it has no Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young, and it has no distinct religious history.”

However, the C Street Center does has a long history of offering apartments to Members of Congress at rates significantly below market near Capitol Hill. The letter named Reps. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.); and Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.), and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as current residents. Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) were named as former residents, along with several others.

Clearly, politics, or perhaps a sweet deal on an apartment, makes strange bedfellows.

taxbilly