On November 13, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago vacated the decision by the Federal District Court of Wisconsin declaring the housing allowance unconstitutional and instructed the District Court to dismiss it.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the organization bringing the suit, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) lacked the legal right - known as 'standing' - to challenge the housing allowance.
ALERT!!!!
Federal District Court in Wisconsin has ruled that ministry housing allowance is unconstitutional.
Please note that at this point in time (December 4th, 2013) the Judge who ruled this (Judge Barbara Crabb) has 'stayed' this ruling until all appeals have been exhausted. Guidestone Financial Resources President and CEO (along with other nonprofit organizations) have stated that they will fight to protect the ministry housing allowance. As of this date, if appealed (which is likely) it will go to the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals which is located in Chicago and has jurisdiction over Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. This court (last month) barred the enforcement of the Obama Admn's contraceptive mandate. Judge Crabb also (in 2010) ruled the statute establishing the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional. The 7th US Court of Appeals unanimously overturned Crabb's decision.
I will keep you posted!
Specializing in Ministry Tax
Welcome to Hartley Tax. Jean Hartley established this firm in order to provide ministers with expert tax consultation concerning ministry tax. She is a tax accountant specializing in ministry tax and accounting with 29 years of experience in the accounting field and 21 years specializing in ministry tax.
Dee Jay Hartley
has been in the tax and accounting field for 30 years. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He also has extensive knowledge in tax planning and social security planning.
Because of the designations we have, we can represent you in front of the IRS if needed.
* If you would like to become a client please feel free to contact us by telephone or e-mail. We look forward to hearing from you. *
Our firm provides a variety of services for individuals, churches, non-profits and small businesses. These services include tax preparation and governmental agency compliance reporting, along with planning and forecasting for taxes. We also provide a variety of bookkeeping services for all levels of client expertise. We at Hartley Tax pride ourselves on our ability to provide personal service to meet your individual andbusiness requirements in these rapidly changing economic times.
