Written by Don Byrd
Associated Baptist Press reports the Justice Department has filed a notice of appeal with the 7th Circuit to challenge last year’s trial court ruling that the tax code’s housing allowance for ministers unconstitutional.
Last November, Senior United States District Judge Barbara Crabb said a section of the tax code granting a benefit for “ministers of the gospel” not available to everyone else favors religion over non-religion, thus creating an establishment of religion prohibited by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
But Crabb, whose jurisdiction is in Wisconsin, stayed her decision pending appeals, leaving the law intact in that state.
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If the appellate court overturns the ruling, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which filed the suit, could appeal to the Supreme Court.
Following the ruling, the Baptist Joint Committee’s Brent Walker released a statement opposing the decision. He argued that while the Constitution may not require a housing allowance, it certainly permits one in the tax code, alongside the many other targeted tax exemptions.
