Black Churches investigated by IRS regarding political endorsements! Tax-Exempt organizations are pr Released by: HBCUENtrepreneurs.com Web Site: http://www.hbcuentrepreneurs.com Black Churches investigated by IRS regarding political endorsements! Email: info@hbcuentrepreneurs.com Keywords: black churches, IRS, political endorsements, election, tax exempt organizations Update Date: 4/19/2007 7:19:12 AM Hits: 147 Descrption:  http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/29/irs_scrutinizing_charities_political_work/ IRS scrutinizing charities' political work By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | April 29, 2006 WASHINGTON -- An increasing number of churches and other charities are violating laws prohibiting involvement in political campaigns, prompting increased enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service and calls for a further crackdown. An IRS review completed in February looked at 82 complaints about charities and found that three-quarters of the groups, nearly half of them churches, had violated laws against political activities. Mark Everson, the IRS commissioner, said in an interview with the Globe that despite the laws, charities receive less scrutiny than political committees, and are becoming increasingly attractive to those who want to use them for political activity. ''I'm very concerned about continued inappropriate activity this [election] cycle," Everson said. ''Every indication I get is that this will be a problem and probably more of a problem. . . . My worry is that clever attorneys are seeing that this is a much less regulated area and they are willfully skewering some activities into the nonprofits and to some degree the churches as well." While the IRS has increased the number of agents who investigate charity abuse, some critics say the IRS is barely scratching the surface of the problem. For example, the IRS has no systematic method of auditing churches, which are not required to file tax returns and are rarely audited unless a complaint is lodged against them. In its recent study, the IRS found that churches were violating the law by either urging people to vote for a particular candidate, endorsing a candidate, or donating money to a candidate. During the 2004 presidential campaign, the Republican Party requested that it be sent church membership directories, with a GOP official writing that ''access to these directories is critical" to identifying those ''likely to be supportive of President Bush's compassionate conservative agenda." Republicans acknowledged receiving many copies of church directories, though they were sometimes sent by church members, not the church leadership. The IRS has not said whether it has taken any action regarding the use of church-membership lists in campaigns. Some analysts have attributed Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry's pivotal loss in Ohio to an effort by churches to urge their members to vote for a measure banning same-sex marriage, which drew more voters to the polls who favored the president. The IRS policy on charities says: ''Charities may not engage in political campaign activities." The policy added that charities ''cannot endorse any candidates, make donations to their campaigns, engage in fund-raising, distribute statements, or become involved in any other activities that may be beneficial or detrimental to any candidate. Even activities that encourage people to vote for or against a particular candidate on the basis of nonpartisan criteria violate the political campaign prohibition." But the IRS has said charities are allowed to distribute unbiased voters guides, and to express opinions on issues. Everson said he has assigned agents to look into all complaints about churches or charities engaging in political activity. He acknowledged that there had not been ''nearly enough focus on misconduct by charities in general, let alone looking at the political intervention."