National Day of Prayer: Trump to loosen orders on religious groups, tax exemptions
Business
National Day of Prayer: Trump to loosen orders on religious groups, tax exemptions
President Trump will issue an executive order on Thursday making it easier for churches and religious groups to take part in politics without risk of losing their tax-exempt status, according to a White House official. The order aims to get around a provision of the federal tax code known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits religious organizations from directly opposing or supporting political candidates. The law also promises "regulatory relief" for groups with religious objections to the preventive services requirement in the Affordable Care Act, including covering religious groups who have moral objections to paying for contraception.
[The order] will direct the IRS to exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment.
White House official
The move will also make it easier for company owners to act in accordance with their religious beliefs. Trump will sign the order as he marks the National Day of Prayer. He promised to "totally destroy" the law when he spoke in February at the National Prayer Breakfast. Fully abolishing the regulation would take an act of Congress, but Trump can direct the IRS not to enforce its prohibitions.