ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®  – News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom
Menu
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Church and State
  • In the News
  • In the News
  • Supreme Court
  • Free Speech
  • Legislation
Menu

Johnson Amendment remains in Senate version of tax bill

Posted on December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 by ReligiousLiberty.TV

[dc]E[/dc]arly Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed its version of a major tax bill. Although there are a number of indirect ramifications for religious institutions, the Senate bill keeps the Johnson Amendment intact.

The Johnson Amendment prohibits non-profit organizations from campaigning for or against political candidates or using their funds for political campaign purposes. Supporters of the Amendment, which was passed in 1954, are concerned that if repealed, churches would be targets for political donors who want to claim tax-exemption status for campaign donations that are routed through churches.

In contrast to the Senate version, the House version of tax reform bill introduced on November 30 would eliminate the Johnson Amendment by providing that religious institution would not lose their tax exempt status “solely because of the content of any homily, sermon, teaching, dialectic, or other presentation made during religious services or gatherings.”

Some have expressed concerns that by raising the Alternative Minimum Tax threshold in the Senate version and repealing it in the House Version, taxpayers may be less likely to make charitable contributions. However, the removal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in high-tax states may have a more significant impact on the ability of taxpayers in high-tax states to donate to their favorite charities or churches.

Both bills would significantly limit or eliminate the double taxation provisions of inheritance laws so that heirs will not have to pay taxes again on the previously taxed income of their parents, and high-wealth individuals will be less likely to contribute their inheritance to charities if they know that they will be able to pass their wealth directly to their children without negative tax consequences.

This week, members of the Senate and the House will be meeting to attempt to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the tax bill in anticipation of passage of a uniform bill by Friday.

Category: Current Events
©2025 ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® – News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experience, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}