Wisconsin pastor asks IRS to investigate his own church
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is challenging an IRS law that many say is wrongly interpreted.
During the 2004 presidential campaign season, Kenneth Taylor, pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Algoma, Wisconsin, preached a sermon encouraging Christians to impact society. Now, he -- along with help from the Becket Fund -- is challenging the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the church on the basis that they violated a tax code that prohibits churches from intervening in political campaigns.
Eric Rassbach with the Becket Fund says the challenge will shed light on a law that has been used since 1954 to censor religious leaders. He notes that in the 1950s, Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson -- as Senate majority leader -- experienced a tough campaign when a tax-exempt organization ran political ads against him....