IRS Demands Assurances that Coalition for Life of Iowa Will Not Oppose Planned Parenthood
Posted by Thomas More Society (July 8, 2009 at 11:47 am)
Update: Victory! IRS agrees to issue 501(C)(3) letter without delay!
Thomas More Society demands that the IRS grant tax-exempt status to the Iowa Coalition as required by law.
After inquiring about the “educational” nature of the Coalition for Life of Iowa’s activities, the IRS stated that it would not grant a tax exemption unless the Coalition agreed to limit its “picketing” and “protesting” of a local Planned Parenthood. Compliance with this request would result in a restriction of the speech of the Coalition for Life, as well as a breach of its First Amendment rights. While other non-profits have had no trouble attaining tax-exempt status from the IRS, this unwarranted ultimatum reveals prejudice toward a Pro-Life organization and, by extension, the Pro-Life movement. Such demands should never arise in the IRS’s decision-making process to grant tax-exempt status for any applicant non-profit organization.
“If the IRS can discriminate against one non-profit, section 501(c)(3) group based on its religious affiliation, then the IRS could theoretically regulate the speech of any other non-profit organization,” said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society.