God and the IRS
Accommodating Religious Practice in United States Tax Law

Provides a coherent way to think about the intersection of religious practice and taxes.

Samuel D. Brunson (Author)

9781107176300, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 April 2018

266 pages
23.6 x 15.7 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'Drawing on a superb mastery of tax law and the historical nuances of many religious traditions, Samuel D. Brunson compellingly argues for a re-examination of American policies at the points where religion and taxation collide. His nuanced and learned proposal for reform should be studied by policy makers, political scientists, sociologists, legal scholars, historians of religion, and anyone concerned about the relationship between money, government, and religious practice in the American context.' Stephen C. Taysom, Cleveland State University

Seventy-five percent of Americans claim religious affiliation, which can impact their taxpaying responsibilities. In this illuminating book, Samuel D. Brunson describes the many problems and breakdowns that can occur when tax meets religion in the United States, and shows how the US government has too often responded to these issues in an unprincipled, ad hoc manner. God and the IRS offers a better framework to understand tax and religion. It should be read by scholars of religion and the law, policymakers, and individuals interested in understanding the implications of taxation on their religious practices.

Introduction
1. Religion and the state
2. On making the tax law
3. Accommodation in the intersection of religious practice and the tax law
4. Taxing citizens of the Kingdom of God
5. Housing clergy
6. Neither a borrower nor a lender be
7. Deductible contribution or purchase of religious benefit
8. A right to tithe?
9. Without purse, scrip, or taxes
10. Religious communitarians
11. A framework for religious tax accommodation.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Taxation [KFFD1], Constitution: government & the state [JPHC], Politics & government [JP]