Congress introduces bill to protect charities' tax-exempt status
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Greg Baylor, director of the ADF Center for Religious Schools, regarding U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Greg Steube’s introduction of the Safeguarding Charity Act, a bill to reaffirm that tax-exempt status does not constitute “federal financial assistance.” Receipt of federal financial assistance triggers multiple burdensome federal laws under which charities and other nonprofits could lose their tax-exempt status:
“The Safeguarding Charity Act seeks to confirm what has always been true: a nonprofit’s tax-exempt status is not government funding and thus does not trigger multiple burdensome federal laws under which charities and other nonprofits could lose their tax-exempt status. Across the country, charities and nonprofits provide invaluable services to their communities. Yet some courts have wrongly held that the government is actively funding these groups simply by permitting them to keep the contributions donors give them. These court decisions unexpectedly subject nonprofits to a number of expensive legal obligations they never contemplated when they applied for and received their tax-exempt status. Worse, the IRS could punish a nonprofit unable to comply with these unexpected, burdensome requirements by stripping its tax-exempt status—something Congress never intended. We commend Sen. Rubio and Rep. Steube for bringing forth this critical legislation to protect nonprofit organizations so they can continue to serve their communities free from unfair and unexpected government overreach.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Gregory S. Baylor
Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and senior counsel with the Center for Public Policy. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees. Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF.