Case Categories: Tax Policy

• Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland (1987)

  In Arkansas Writers’ Project, Inc. v. Ragland, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an Arkansas law exempting newspapers and “religious, professional...

• Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)

  The Supreme Court held in Bob Jones University v. United States (1983) that the IRS may deny tax-exempt status to institutions that violate federal racial...

• Bradfield v. Roberts (1899)

  In Bradfield v. Roberts (1899), the first case challenging a federal expense as an establishment-clause violation, the Supreme Court said funding a Catholic...

• Cammarano v. United States (1959)

  The Supreme Court rejected arguments in Cammarano v. United States that the denial of tax deductions to businesses trying to defeat legislation was a violation...

• Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist (1973 )

  The Supreme Court in 1973 determined that a New York program providing school maintenance aid to parochial schools, and tuition and tax breaks for parents,...

• Gibbons v. District of Columbia (1886)

  In Gibbons v. District of Columbia, the court affirmed that Congress could tax church property that had been used “for any business purpose...

• Hernandez v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (1989)

  Hernandez v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue prevented individuals from deducting monies used for religious “auditing” and “training” sessions from...

• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California (1990)
• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California (1990)

  In Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California (1990), the Court ruled that the same taxes on the sales of a minister and other retailers...

• Leathers v. Medlock (1991)

  The Supreme Court decision in Leathers v. Medlock (1991), firmly established the principle that a generally applicable tax that may fall harder on one form of...

• Minneapolis Star and Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue (1983)

  Minneapolis Star and Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue (1983) ruled that a tax on papers that spent over $100,000 a year on supplies violated the...

• Mueller v. Allen (1983)

  Mueller v. Allen (1983) found that a law allowing tax deductions benefiting parochial schools was not in violation of the establishment clause of the First...

• Quick Bear v. Leupp (1908)

  The Supreme Court in 1908 ruled that expenditures from treaty trust funds for Catholic schools on Indian reservations did not violate the establishment clause...

• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington (1983)

  The Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that the IRS denial of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to an organization with substantial lobbying activities did not infringe...

• Speiser v. Randall (1958)

  In Speiser v. Randall (1958), the Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot condition the receipt of a benefit on a loyalty oath to not overthrow the government...

• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989)

  Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989) struck down a state tax exemption used solely for religious books and periodicals. The exemption violated the First...

• Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor (1985)

  Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor (1985) ruled that FLSA regulations did not violate the First Amendment when applied to religious...

• Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)

  In 1970, the Supreme Court held that New York's property tax exemption for churches did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The court...