I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A conservative organization’s plan to encourage pastors to defy the Internal Revenue Service by endorsing a presidential candidate at the pulpit this Sunday likely will attract little attention in the nation’s Capitol where lawmakers are focused on averting a financial calamity.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a legal group based in Arizona, has recruited ministers for “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” to encourage them to violate a 54-year-old provision of the tax code that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, like churches, from engaging in partisan politics.
But even Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), who has introduced legislation to repeal this section of the tax code, had not received any calls from reporters about the movement until Thursday.
“I’ve been working on this for years and yes, I heard about this coming, but no one questioned me about pros and cons,” Jones, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said. “I’m going to watch this carefully and see what happens.”
The IRS, which could investigate the activity and revoke a church’s tax- exempt status, does not pro-actively seek out violators.
“We are aware of recent press reports, and will monitor the situation and take action as appropriate,” Nancy Mathis, an IRS spokeswoman, said in an email.
Mathis explained that religious leaders are allowed to speak for themselves about political and policy issues. They cannot, however, make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official functions.
The regulations governing church political activity are available at the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-07-41.pdf).
