Colleges seek answers amid Trump push to cancel tax exemptions over diversity programs - POLITICO

The Trump administration is threatening to cancel universities’ tax exemptions over diversity programs, and the higher education world is worried. 

The new rules, which aim to stamp out policies supporting minorities on college campuses, are unusually stringent. At the same time, they’re also vague, leaving many to wonder what commonplace activities and practices might land a school in the government’s crosshairs. 

And the penalty for flunking the test — the loss of nonprofit status — is extreme: It would upend schools’ finances. Colleges could suddenly find themselves facing stiff tax bills, not to mention higher borrowing costs and other expenses…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/07/college-tax-exempt-trump-regulations-01105427

Preventing religious harm

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CHZ1XAPVAPM

Trump judge SHUTS DOWN churches’ power grab!

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vJeCMSJZV0c

 

Trump’s IRS Gives Christian Nationalists a Big Boost – Mother Jones

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this beautiful Sunday morning, I stand behind this pulpit to share with you—and the tens of thousands of other believers who are watching—a troubling and painful fact: Congresswoman Smith is a tool of Satan. She has sided with him on issue after issue. She is an impediment to the establishment of a godly government run in accordance with the words of our Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Brothers and sisters, you know I do not say this lightly, but she must be cast out. The Bible commands all of us to marshal our time and talents and resources and do whatever is possible to remove her from office, and to elect T.R. Jones, a righteous man and soldier for Christ. You must align your vote with the Holy War that is underway for nothing less than this nation's future. And the urgency is such that it is time to stretch, to give even more than you think you can by donating to the Jones campaign the maximum of $3,500—a small price to pay for receiving God's blessing. But your commitment to the Lord does not end there. You must also contribute to the Say-No-to-Satan PAC, a Christ-loving political action committee that can accept unlimited—yes, unlimited—donations. Much as your love for Jesus Christ our Savior is unlimited. You can show what that means right now. There's a QR code on the envelope in your pew and on the screen…

Coming soon to a church near you!

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/trumps-irs-hands-christian-nationalists-a-big-boost/ 

 

ALMOST UNWATCHABLE: Warren Literally Reads Off Rule Word-By-Word To Trump IRS Commissioner Nominee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSKd7dFUQrs

Far right's Project 2025 makes Christian faith the government's job

"Today the Left is threatening the tax-exempt status of churches and charities that reject woke progressivism," he claims without evidence. "They will soon turn to Christian schools and clubs with the same totalitarian intent."

Roberts' view that progressives are out to get Christians sets the tone for individual chapters on various federal agencies. While anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ policies run throughout the book, several policy areas stand out...

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/project-2025-heritage-foundation-christian-nationalism-rcna103510

Tax complaint filed against rightwing parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty | US politics | The Guardian

Michigan attorney alleges organization, named an extremist group by Southern Poverty Law Center, in violation of non-profit status…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/29/moms-for-liberty-irs-tax-complaint

Rightwing legal activist accused of misusing $73m from nonprofit groups

Michelle Kuppersmith, executive director of Campaign for Accountability, said it is asking for the tax exempt status of the groups to be revoked. The IRS does not approve of "using nonprofits as basically laundromats to wash money through in a tax exempt way and then out the other end to two private entities", she added. 

"We're hopeful that the IRS and/or the DC AG [attorney general] will take up this complaint and use the evidence that we're presenting, which is very carefully thought out and laid out in legal language with all of the relevant statutes that we believe are being violated, along with a lot of the background to provide the evidence as to why."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/06/leonard-leo-watchdog-complaint-investigation

A Right-Wing Think Tank Claimed to Be a Church. Now, Members of Congress Want to Investigate. — ProPublica

Forty lawmakers are calling on the IRS and the Treasury to investigate after ProPublica reported that the Family Research Council gained protections by claiming it is a church...

https://www.propublica.org/article/a-right-wing-think-tank-claimed-to-be-a-church-now-members-of-congress-want-to-investigate

Donald Trump's War on Higher Education - The Atlantic

President Trump is threatening to punish universities for “radical left indoctrination.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/trump-universities/614038/

An Atheist Charity is Suing the IRS After Having Its Tax Exemption Revoked | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

There are a lot of U.S. laws that privilege religious institutions over other non-profits, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been working to expose those differences and get the courts to put everyone on a level playing field.....
http://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2018/10/11/an-atheist-charity-is-suing-the-irs-after-having-its-tax-exemption-revoked/

Trump administration issues new tax ruling to make dark money even darker - Daily Kos

Russian asset Donald Trump's Treasury Department has issued a new ruling that would protect the identity of donors to some tax-exempt organizations like Planned Parenthood. And, more to the point, like the National Rifle Association. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1781638

Focus on the Family Pulled Some Shady Tricks to Convince the IRS It’s a “Church” – Friendly Atheist

What is Focus on the Family? You may think of it as a massive non-profit group dedicated to promoting a very conservative Christian view of the world, one that’s anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro-abstinence, and doesn’t even recognize the existence of transgender people. ....

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/04/17/focus-on-the-family-pulled-some-shady-tricks-to-convince-the-irs-its-a-church/

When Is a Church Not a Church? - The New York Times - Opinion

Now that tax day is upon us, consider that through the miracle of tax breaks some of your tax dollars will effectively be going to support groups that finance campaigns against same-sex marriage and gun safety. A number of these groups are also entitled to raise money from other sources for political purposes, without filing the disclosures that are required of other individuals and entities. Why? They’ve got God on their side....

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/opinion/church-irs-tax-breaks.html

Battle rages over tax rules for churches | TheHill

Proponents of rolling back IRS restrictions on churches and charities aren’t giving up despite their failure to secure a provision in tax-reform legislation.....
http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/365527-battle-rages-over-tax-rules-for-churches

How Repealing the Johnson Amendment Would Change Churches and Charities | HowStuffWorks

Repealing what is known in the tax code as the Johnson Amendment is, to many, a dangerous and radical stomping on the long-held line that separates church from state. The repeal could lead, many warn, to politicking from the pulpit and an unprecedented flow of tax-free political money into houses of worship and charities. Maybe even worse, the big-bucks windfall, some fear, could force these organizations — known by their tax code standing, 501(c)(3)s — into taking sides in an increasingly partisan nation.....
https://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/personal-income-taxes/proposed-tax-bill-would-change-churches-and-charities.htm

Religion News Service: House Republicans’ proposed tax reform will lead to church regulation

Permitting tax-exempt churches to engage in partisan politicking would throw untold millions — even billions is no exaggeration — of dark money into U.S. elections. ....
http://religionnews.com/2017/11/28/house-republicans-proposed-tax-reform-will-lead-to-church-regulation/

Tax bill: 'Johnson Amendment' repeal could cost more than $1 billion

A provision in the tax bill to allow churches to be more directly engaged in politics could cost the U.S. government hundreds of millions of dollars, congressional experts say, because some political donors would shift their money to tax-exempt charities....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/10/tax-bills-repeal-johnson-amendment-could-cost-taxpayers-more-than-1-billion/852554001/

Federal judge strikes down tax-free housing for clergy - Chicago Tribune

A federal judge in Wisconsin has struck down as unconstitutional a law that gives clergy tax-free housing allowances, in a ruling that could have far-reaching ramifications for religious leaders who have fought for years to keep the substantial financial benefit....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/indiana/ct-tax-free-housing-clergy-20171009-story.html

Could a $10 sale mean no more taxes for Noah’s Ark theme park? | Lexington Herald Leader

On June 29, Williamstown city attorney Jeffrey Shipp sent a letter to the biblical amusement park Ark Encounter, rejecting its request to be exempted from a new safety tax because its is a religious organization.

Shipp said it was clear that Ark Encounter is a for-profit entity, which is how it has been listed with the Kentucky secretary of state’s office since 2011. But the day before, Ark Encounter LLC sold its main parcel of land — the one with the large-scale Noah’s Ark — for $10 to its nonprofit affiliate, Crosswater Canyon....
http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article161782438.html