On National Day of Prayer this Thursday (4/5), President Donald Trump announced that he has signed a presidential decree that changes the text of the tax code that prohibits churches, as they are non-profit and tax-exempt entities , To endorse or oppose candidates for elected office in their religious sermons. Now, churches are free to do election sermons as well as to donate to candidates of their own choosing.
The legislation, passed in 1954 under the name of "Johnson Amendment," aimed at preventing religious groups, tax-exempt and tax-deductible donations from using their income, to use the money they have earned to campaign against The same government that granted them the tax benefits or to promote their political interests.
In other words, the legislation was meant to prevent the government from subsidizing political campaigns from the pulpits of the churches. As the IRS explains, "all [nonprofit organizations, including charities, foundations, etc.] are totally prohibited from participating directly or indirectly or from engaging in any political campaign in favor of Opposition to) any candidate for elected public office ".
All of these entities can conduct policy, including election campaigns, as long as they waive the tax benefits granted by the government, according to the "Johnson Amendment," according to Washington Post, Politico, ThinkProgress, Daily News and ABC News.
Trump would have two alternative routes to the presidential decree: to go to court to question the constitutionality of the bill or to wait for Congress to pass a bill that would amend the legislation (a bill that would have already been presented to Congress). He opted for the decree to fulfill a campaign promise, made mostly to his base of evangelical voters.
However, the decree does not change the current legislation. It merely directs the IRS to relax the enforcement of the rules that bar the tax-exempt churches from participating in politics on behalf of religious freedoms. In announcing the signing of the decree to a large number of evangelical pastors at the White House, Trump declared, to the applause of the audience: "The government has used this legislation as a weapon against people of faith. No one should censor sermons or persecute pastors. "
The bill significantly benefits the Republican Party, which is aligned with religious goals such as reversing all the rights that have lately been granted to the LGBT community (including same-sex marriage), banning abortion, and even Coverage by public funds of birth control methods.
Trump owed this to religious, since polls revealed that he had 80 percent of the votes of evangelical Christians while his challenger to the US government, Democrat Hillary Clinton, had only 16 percent of the vote.
A current poll by the Pew Research Center, reported by the Washington Post, claims that religious are holding back Trump's popularity from plummeting even further. The president has the support of 67% of white evangelicals and 61% of white Catholics, while their popularity among the general public is only 39%.
Valparaiso University Tax Law professor David Herzig told newspapers that the measure will turn the churches into Super PACs with extra privileges. Super PACs (Super Political Action Committees) are political action committees that can receive endless donations from corporations, unions and individuals to fund political campaigns.
But there are restrictions and obligations, such as making public disclosures of your spending. Churches, like other nonprofits, are not bound by the same restrictions and obligations, which theoretically makes the process much less transparent, Herzig said.
According to the ThinkProgress website, Trump may have unwittingly set a trap for his religious constituency by legislating by decree. The next president could reverse the rules to what it was - and for that, simply reverse the order given to the IRS - and all churches and their ecclesiastical representatives could be investigated for violation of the law - and lose tax benefits.
The presidential decree was not celebrated by all religious. Some pastors have declared support for the old legislation because it protects what should be a spiritual refuge against the pernicious intrusion of politics. Interfaith Alliance President Rabbi Jack Moline told the newspapers that the "Johnson Amendment" prevents prayer temples from becoming political-partisan instruments.
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