The town of Mission, Kansas has initiated what amounts to a tax on church attendance.
This past August, the town passed a “driveway” tax which taxed people based upon how much they used their driveway. The tax was passed with the intent of using the revenues for public works projects. While residents pay a flat rate of $72 annually, bigger department stores may pay over $60,000 annually. This has inversely affected the churches in the town of mission. Because the tax is based upon driveway use, the churches that have greater attendance rates are likely to face higher taxes from the town. This has resulted in St. Pius Catholic church being charged $1,700 for simply having a strong rate of attendance.
Two churches have decided that they will not allow the tax law to go unchallenged. Asserting that they have been unfairly taxed, they have filed a lawsuit and are being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund.
Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, claims that the tax law is unconstitutional stating, “The city of Mission is taxing churches…And that’s clearly unconstitutional.”
There is a reason that the government has not historically been able to tax churches. If the government had the ability to directly tax churches, the government could use its taxing powers to influence the doctrine taught at any given church.
The early Chief Justice John Marshall is reputed to have said that, “the power to tax is the power to destroy.” With this reality, there is great hesitation on the part of many to see these churches taxed in such a direct way.
The town has responded to the lawsuit claiming that the tax was legitimate, because in the words of Mission’s mayor, “This is not a tax…This is a fee.” The town is maintaining that the “driveway” tax is essentially the same as a fee, similar to what residents pay for water or electricity. However, according to Mr. Stanley this assertion on the part of the town will not hold up in court.
With the town appearing to double down on its position, this tax is likely headed to court.
(cross-posted at Christian Law Journal)
