The American News Project has produced an important video, revealing new information about the Mormon Church's role in advocating for the passage of Proposition 8 in California last fall. ANP has uncovered documentation of a more concerted campaign, including a Web site, call centers, and videos produced for satellite feeds in churches, than was previously known. Because the Mormon Church has not disclosed how much money it spent on its anti-gay-marriage campaign (making it the target of an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission), it's impossible to know whether it, in contravention of its tax exempt status, engaged in "substantial" lobbying activity.
Watch it here:
ANP raises a critical point about transparency, and not just under California's political disclosure laws. Because the church does not have to file publicly available tax returns, the public has no way of knowing how many financial and other resources it devoted to this or any other activity. That, combined with the IRS' lack of any guidance or clarity on what constitutes "substantial" renders the regulation of whether churches violate their tax-exempt status toothless.
--Sarah Posner
