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LINK Supreme Court justice blasts Virginia city over refusing tax exemption for church

One of the Supreme Court's conservatives blasted the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, saying officials improperly delved into the internal religious practices of a church after it requested a property tax exemption for two of its ministers.

"The First Amendment does not permit bureaucrats or judges to subject religious views to verification," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, dissenting from the court's refusal to hear the case, in which the city denied the exemption.

The appeal came from the New Life in Christ Church, which bought a house in Fredericksburg, about 50 miles southeast of Washington, D.C., for a couple hired as youth ministers. The church said their duties involved providing leadership over the church's ministry to college students.

Virginia's constitution allows a real estate tax exemption for property occupied by churches and for the residences of their ministers. A separate state law says the exemption applies to "the residence of the minister of the church." The city concluded that the house for the couple did not qualify, so the church sued. It lost in state courts.

Gorsuch said the city wrongly probed into the church's internal affairs, seeking to verify its religious rules.

snytiger6 9 Jan 19
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7 comments

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2

I'm a Pope of the Discordian religion (well, technically everybody is; they decided to one-up Kirby Smith's Universal Life Church, which ordains anybody for $75 or something, and just appointed everyone on the planet as a Pope...). I shall be applying for my tax exemption. I may have to print out the card again though, so I can prove it.

2

So when it comes to tax matters involving a church, the city should take whatever the church says at face value and has no right to determine facts, such as whether they are truly qualified for the exemption???!

Right! Gorsuch seems to think that no one should ever question what these Charlatans say or do! We should just acquiesce to whatever they want to do apparently, Because religion!

4

Tax them all. In my day the house would have been provided free to the minister and his family only. I can't even tell you if any of the ministers paid taxes of any kind. Did they file taxes? IDK.

3

Gorsuch is plainly unable to use what few brains he has.

3

The city had right idea no matter the reasoning.

6

Tax all churches. They sell a product, (BS) with no overhead cost <---pun intended

Leetx Level 7 Jan 19, 2022

. . . a nice 'wish', virtually NO chance of that happening in the US. 😛

8

This prick Gorsuch is going to be a real problem for this country. He will try hard to promote religion and their rights over everyone else! So much for a secular constitution. 😡

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