The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not provide a conscientious exemption to paying taxes. The court reasoned that the state has a compelling interest in a uniform taxation system. The case is Tyms-Bey v. State, No. 49A05-1603-CR-439 (Ind. Ct. App. Jan. 13, 2017). Continue reading “Ind. Ct. App: Indiana RFRA doesn’t exempt taxpayers”
Tag: religious exemptions
7th Cir: Notre Dame must submit form to avoid paying for contraceptives
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Notre Dame’s request for court-ordered exception to the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The case had returned from the Supreme Court after the high court decided Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius. Find the decision here.
Judge Richard Posner wrote the forty-page majority opinion, with Judge David Hamilton writing a concurrence. Judge Joel Flaum dissented. Continue reading “7th Cir: Notre Dame must submit form to avoid paying for contraceptives”
Seventh Circuit holds challengers to parsonage exemption lack standing
The Seventh Circuit unanimously rejected a challenge to the parsonage exemption brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, concluding that the Wisconsin-based, nontheistic group lacked the legal ability to challenge the statutory exception granted to “minister[s] of the gospel.” Because the Seventh Circuit concluded the plaintiffs did not have standing, it did not reach the question of whether the parsonage exemption runs afoul of the First Amendment. The opinion reverses a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin that held the provision unconstitutional as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (You can listen to the very interesting oral argument here.*)
Continue reading “Seventh Circuit holds challengers to parsonage exemption lack standing”
U.S. Supreme Court Denies German Homeschoolers’ Appeal
This post is being published on both Law Meets Gospel and Indiana Education Law Blog.
The United States Supreme Court has rejected a petition filed by a German family seeking asylum based on what they characterize as religious persecution in their home country. The Romeike family began homeschooling their children because they feared the public school’s curriculum would influence their children in a way that contradicted their Christian values. This violated a 1938 compulsory-attendance law in Germany that the Romeikes argued was originally driven by animus toward faith-based homeschoolers. Continue reading “U.S. Supreme Court Denies German Homeschoolers’ Appeal”
Sotomayor Rings in New Year with Obamacare Stay: What Religious Groups Should Know
Justice Sonia Sotomayor made sure she was part of the number one story to start off
2014. In case anyone doubted leading New York City’s countdown to 2014 in Times
Square would put Sotomayor on the front page, a few hours before midnight she
temporarily blocked the federal government from requiring certain religiously
affiliated organizations to provide insurance coverage that includes birth
control. Continue reading “Sotomayor Rings in New Year with Obamacare Stay: What Religious Groups Should Know”