Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Economy

Supreme Court rules Wisconsin unconstitutionally discriminated against Christian charity

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group in a case centered on unemployment tax credits for religious institutions – delivering a victory for faith-based institutions, who argued that the state’s decision had violated the religious clauses under the First Amendment. 

In a unanimous opinion, the justices agreed that the state had engaged in an ‘unnecessary entanglement’ in attempting to define whether religious groups should be entitled to an otherwise-available tax exemption based on the state’s criteria for religious behavior.

‘When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny,’ Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, writing for the majority.

‘Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.’

The decision could clear the way for more states to broaden their tax-exempt status for religious organizations, with ripple effects that could stretch far beyond Wisconsin. 

The Catholic Charities Bureau asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that had required them to pay Wisconsin’s unemployment tax, after the state determined the group’s activities were ‘primarily charitable and secular,’ and therefore not subject to the exemptions.

Lawyers for the Catholic Charities Bureau argued the ruling was an unconstitutional violation of religious freedoms and amounted to viewpoint-based discrimination, and argued that ‘gospel values and the moral teaching of the church.’

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the group must pay the tax since the nature of their work was primarily secular, since it was not ‘operated primarily for religious purposes,’ and serves and employs non-Catholics.

‘There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one,’ Sotomayor said on Thursday. ‘When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny.’

The decision comes as the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has, in recent years, ruled in favor of religious institutions, including in cases like this one, which center on allowing taxpayer funds to be allocated to some religious organizations to provide ‘non-sectarian services.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News And Articles.






    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    You May Also Like

    Economy

    Top House Republicans are leading a bill to reverse the Biden administration’s decision to lift sanctions on a Chinese entity linked to the persecution...

    Editor's Pick

    The rise of Asian fast fashion retailer Shein already has Amazon on alert, but its plans of selling proprietary supply-chain technology and services to...

    Economy

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing scrutiny from Republicans over what they say are pro-China remarks, including an interview in which the Democratic vice...

    Economy

    Ahead of a planned trip to China this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reported to have alleged that Beijing is still...

    Disclaimer: Smartmerchantknow.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2025 smartmerchantknow.com