I pointed a few days ago toward a new study which charges that the evangelical right is funding anti-gay movements in Africa as a device for increasing its influence there. It’s believable — I would go so far as to say, likely — but our domestic tax laws prohibit the financial scrutiny of religious organizations that would settle the matter dispositively.
Michael-in-Norfolk has followed-up with a couple of posts, here and here, and has links to others. Worth a look-see.
Non-profits with revenues of less than $25,000 per year, and all religious organizations, are exempt from filing IRS Form 990, the annual income tax return for non-profits. That exclusion should be ended, and every organization which files a 990 ought to be required to make it available for download from their Web site.
The public who indirectly subsidizes these organizations by permitting them to escape taxes have a natural-born right to know what they do with that money. What is more, publishing the returns on the Internet assures that those organizations will police each other. It’s win-win for everybody but the crooks.
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