[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] on Thursday reversed [opinion, PDF] the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin Court [official website] decision [opinion, PDF] that a portion of the tax code giving clergy housing allowances, is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs challenged 26 US Code Section 107(2) [text], which excludes from taxation rental allowances given to clergy members including rent, furnishings, and utilities. The plaintiffs, co-presidents of the Freedom from Religion Foundations (FFRF) [advocacy website], claim this part of the code is unconstitutional based on the fact that they are taxed for the portion of their salary that gives them similar housing allowances. The court, citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife [opinion, text], stated that in order for the parties to make this challenge they need standing under the establishment clause [JURIST, backgrounder]. The court further stated, citing Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn [opinion, text] that a plaintiff’s mere status as a taxpayer cannot constitute standing and that the injury must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way. Moreover, the plaintiff suffered no injury because the plaintiff failed to apply for the tax exemption in order to be denied. The court reversed and remanded the case to the lower court giving deference to the Internal Revenue Service [official website] and the tax court to interpret the boundaries of the tax provision and assess its constitutionality.

This is not the first faith-based challenge to laws from the FFRF. In 2013 the Seventh Circuit vacated [JURIST report] a trial court decision barring the FFRF from challenging former President George W. Bush administration’s faith based initiatives, citing the establishment clause. In 2012 the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania [official website] dismissed [JURIST report] an FFRF suit challenging a Pennsylvania law [HR 535, PDF] declaring 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” In 2010 a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the National Day of Prayer was an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. Earlier that year The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website] upheld [JURIST report] a New Hampshire law requiring school to schedule time for voluntary recitation of the US pledge of allegiance.