Atheists target clergy’s tax break for housing
A long-standing tax break for clergy and other "ministers of the
gospel" is facing the lastest in a string of challenges in federal
court. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation filed suit
September 13 to challenge the constitutionality of tax deductions that
clergy are allowed to claim on their housing expenses.
The tax
break, called a parish exemption, allows clergy to deduct income that is
designated as a housing allowance, including rental payments and
mortgage interest. Such allowances are a common way for religious
congregations to boost the value of modest clergy salaries.
The
suit names Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Internal Revenue
Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman. The plaintiffs are Dan Barker and
Annie Laurie Gaylor, copresidents of FFRF, and Anne Nicol Gaylor, a
past president and cofounder. Annie Laurie Gaylor is executive editor of
Freethought Today.