NationStates Jolt Archive

Florida's Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit by a Wiccan organization against a state law that exempts Bibles, religious publications and ceremonial items from sales tax.

The Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida says it paid sales tax on the purchase of the "Satanic Bible" and the "Witch's Bible Compleat," but instead of seeking a refund, it filed suit claming Florida Statute 212.06(9) violates the Establishment Clause.


The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment says in part, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Orlando-based Liberty Counsel filed a brief in defense of the state law, arguing the Wiccan group has no standing to sue, because, even if the law were struck down, it would not receive the refund it claims is due.

The brief also contends the Florida exemption differs from the religious-publication exemption struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Texas Monthly v. Bullock.

The Texas law exempted Bibles and religious publications but not secular publications.

Liberty Counsel pointed out Florida law provides a wide array of exemptions for educational publications, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, promotional materials and works of art sold to or used by educational institutions.

The Orlando group insists the best U.S. Supreme Court precedent is Walz v. Tax Commissioner, in which the court upheld property tax exemptions for churches.

The brief notes Texas Monthly was a fractured opinion with no majority, the justices who voted to strike down the Texas law are no longer on the court and those who voted to uphold the law still remain on the court.

Liberty Counsel's president and general counsel, Mathew D. Staver, contends the Wiccans are trying to "collapse the entire house on itself by seeking to eliminate all sales tax exemptions on Bibles and religious publications."

The state law is constitutional, he insisted.

"Even if Florida's law were questionable under one of the Supreme Court's fractured prior opinions, which it is not, any attempt to tax religion will not be met with enthusiasm by a majority of the justices on the Supreme Court," Staver said.

"In case the Wiccans haven't been paying attention lately," he added, "they should realize the times have changed. We have a new court."

Personally I think that all religous publications should NOT be exempt of sales tax. What if I consider playboy a religous text? Do i get no sales tax on it? So the best way to deal with this case, I believe, is to make all Religous publications accountable for a sales tax...Any thoughts?

On this one, I'm actually in favor of widening the net to include as many groups as possible in the tax exemption for this reason--I never want the government to be able to effectively remove from circulation a book because it used in a religion that the people in power don't like. If, for instance, the Koran wasn't exempted in the same way the Bible is, Congress could pass an excise tax targeting Korans, and add, say, 5000% to the purchase price, thereby limiting the distribution to all but the few who could afford them. I may have serious issues with the "christians" in power currently, but I don't want a government to have that kind of power over their holy book should circumstances change.

are bibles sold in bookstores exempt from sales tax??

it should be all or none eh? the feds have a list of "recognized" religions. the irs recognizes them as being legit enough to be exempt from taxes. playboy isnt one of them.

No book ought to be exempt from sales tax. If the Word is so important, it ought to be given freely anyway.

If such texts are exempt, I'm going to declare for Blind Io and refuse to pay taxes on Terry Pratchett books.

No taxes on anything religious? How about no taxes on any books, period! It's only fair.

No book ought to be exempt from sales tax. If the Word is so important, it ought to be given freely anyway.


I totally agree.If the Bible is so important, then shouldn't Christians give it out freely, instead of changing things on it to get a copyright, and thus making money off of it. Greedy SOBs

[quote]The brief also contends the Florida exemption differs from the religious-publication exemption struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Texas Monthly v. Bullock./quote]
That means the law added little technicalities that doesn't change the spirit and would be ruled unConstitutional if this reached the Supreme Court.

I totally agree.If the Bible is so important, then shouldn't Christians give it out freely, instead of changing things on it to get a copyright, and thus making money off of it. Greedy SOBs

I wasn't aware the Bible was copyrighted. Now I hear the apocalypse getting a little closer.

I wasn't aware the Bible was copyrighted. Now I hear the apocalypse getting a little closer.


Yup any translation other than KJV is definitly copyrighted..Most KJV are as well..people add like the red coloring or maps or little dictionaries, thus its not the original historical text, and they can sell it.

I totally agree.If the Bible is so important, then shouldn't Christians give it out freely, instead of changing things on it to get a copyright, and thus making money off of it. Greedy SOBs
One of the reasons the Bible is copyrighted, at least in the case of the Catholic Living Bible, is because the money made off of it goes to Catholic charities.....

Yeah, how greedy of them, making money for the charities that are under-supported as it is.

As for the rest of them (NIV, NKJ, etc) I have no idea where that money goes. But you guys know, if you ever wanted a Bible for free, just take the hotel Bible. Gideons puts it there, free of charge to the hotel, with the understanding that somebody will take it. Hotels aren't supposed to charge you for it, either, because it's not their property.

we should fix this... The Church of the playboy addicts!


will you join?

Simonist']One of the reasons the Bible is copyrighted, at least in the case of the Catholic Living Bible, is because the money made off of it goes to Catholic charities.....

Yeah, how greedy of them, making money for the charities that are under-supported as it is.

As for the rest of them (NIV, NKJ, etc) I have no idea where that money goes. But you guys know, if you ever wanted a Bible for free, just take the hotel Bible. Gideons puts it there, free of charge to the hotel, with the understanding that somebody will take it. Hotels aren't supposed to charge you for it, either, because it's not their property.


Yes, gideons do leave free bibles. Thats good. But from my understanding, many copyrighted bibles are just used to fund things like CBN or fill the pockets of materialistic religous org.

Agreeing With OP. Religious Orginizations Are Business' Like Every Other Private Enterprise. If They Say It's A Public Business, Then That Means It's A Government Run Business, And Well, Enough Said. I'm Pretty Sure All Non-Government-Run Business' Have Sales Tax, So Why Not Religious Groups?

Yes, gideons do leave free bibles. Thats good. But from my understanding, many copyrighted bibles are just used to fund things like CBN or fill the pockets of materialistic religous org.
Well like I said, I can only speak in pure defense of the Catholic Living Bible and Gideons. I make no attempted excuses for the others because they're not even the Bibles that my school endorses for our classes; in fact, we're only supposed to go off of the Catholic Living Bible for our religion courses, given that we're learning religion at a Catholic-funded school with Catholic teachers and courses aimed at Catholic interpretation/theology.....

Yes, it's wrong that people should profit off of the Bible. But I consider it on par, in many cases, with how much you have to pay for the plethora of self-help books. Should we tax-exempt those, for the atheists who are looking for their way in life and have nowhere to turn?

i don't see how a sales tax is "prohibiting the free practice there of"

I think there should be a sales tax on all publications without reference to content. It's fair, it's consistent, it's logical.

i don't see how a sales tax is "prohibiting the free practice there of"
OH! But Then Poor People Can't Worship! *Sarcasm*

What a silly thing to do, to exempt religions from taxes. They're businesses like the rest of them.

OH! But Then Poor People Can't Worship! *Sarcasm*
Which is why we should go back to the system when only the scholars, monks and upper-class could even read the damn Bible, let alone any other written word.....

*Longs for the good old days*

I totally agree.If the Bible is so important, then shouldn't Christians give it out freely, instead of changing things on it to get a copyright, and thus making money off of it. Greedy SOBs

They do. At least in parts. When I went to college there were church groups who used to stand on the sidewalk handing out pleather-bound volumes of the Book of Proverbs.

I totally agree.If the Bible is so important, then shouldn't Christians give it out freely, instead of changing things on it to get a copyright, and thus making money off of it. Greedy SOBs
we do give it out freely, we don't however own the publishing company.

ever heard of the Gideons (http://www.gideons.org/)?

What a silly thing to do, to exempt religions from taxes. They're businesses like the rest of them.

Non-profits are allowed to make profits. Even secular charities and issue advocate companies are tax exempt. So long as a religious group follows the same rules that other non-profits do then they should be entitled to tax-exempt status.

Incidently, Jerry Falwell's group "Moral Majority" got disolved because it violated rules against advocating political candidates, effectivly making them a for-profit PR company. Now he's gotten it started again because he knows that he'll get a free ride. Some other Christian churches however have been threatened with the loss of their tax-exemption for preaching peace. You know, like Christ did.

As for the Bible however, I don't agree with the sales tax exemption. It's a book, not a church. It's a collection of myths and legends that some people happen to consider holy. Printers print it and sell it for profit. It's business, plain and simple.

If a Church sold bibles to raise funds, then it should be tax exempt. But the same would hold true for a church bake sale. If a bookstore sells the Bible tax free, then where does it end? Are the Left Behind books tax exempt? Penn and Teller have some books I think. Can I get those tax free if I say I'm a secular humanist (they're big on debunking religion)?

I agree on the fact that the Bible should be free. But then again, some churches do give them out for free. It's mainly Christian Book Stores. I went in to get a Norma Jean and a Chariot CD. They both cost just shy of $19. Went on the internet and got them both for the price of one from there. I don't believe it's real Christians trying to make a profit, but people who claim to have Christ as their Savior and using the mass Christian population as a way to make some $$$.

As for the sales taxes, I don't care. Like I said, they should be free anyways. Maybe all the "Christians" are trying to get all the money they can rake in now. I say on 6th of June 2006 it'll be the end of the world or the beginning of the end anyways (66[0]6). Dum dum dum! And then I'm sure all the Wiccans will wish that they weren't out there doing alot of the stuff they do. I think alot of ppl just do that stuff for attention. Anyhoo...

i don't see how a sales tax is "prohibiting the free practice there of"
A small tax isn't, but any tax can become punitive to the point that it makes it impossible to for the product to be produced and sold. Imagine a sales tax of one billion percent, for instance. It could happen--not to the Bible any time soon, but it is in the realm of possibility.

I agree on the fact that the Bible should be free. But then again, some churches do give them out for free. It's mainly Christian Book Stores. I went in to get a Norma Jean and a Chariot CD. They both cost just shy of $19. Went on the internet and got them both for the price of one from there. I don't believe it's real Christians trying to make a profit, but people who claim to have Christ as their Savior and using the mass Christian population as a way to make some $$$.
or it costs money to print Bibles? nah, surely not.

Personally, even though I'm british, It shows why the confederates should have won the civil war. That way, one rule would fit the whole country, but the USA is more like the UK. A collection of small states that are held under one constitution (Britain doesn't have one, but it could be classed as unwritten) but are allowed to have none unconstitutional laws.
I think religion is unnecessary and if a shop is going to profit from a religous book, tax away!

The Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida should have no case against the state, they would have to sue the store. Also it is not the goal of the Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida to have bibles taxed, they only want their own religious stuff included in the exemption.

Personally I think that all religous publications should NOT be exempt of sales tax. What if I consider playboy a religous text? Do i get no sales tax on it? So the best way to deal with this case, I believe, is to make all Religous publications accountable for a sales tax...Any thoughts?
There shouldn't be sales tax on books...or just round up to the next dollar for tax.

I agree on the fact that the Bible should be free. But then again, some churches do give them out for free. It's mainly Christian Book Stores. I went in to get a Norma Jean and a Chariot CD. They both cost just shy of $19. Went on the internet and got them both for the price of one from there. I don't believe it's real Christians trying to make a profit, but people who claim to have Christ as their Savior and using the mass Christian population as a way to make some $$$.
It's called capitalism. Things in stores cost alot more than they do online because there is no middleman ripping you off, well one less middleman anyway.

Once again, Florida needs to catch up with the rest of the country.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already determined that a sales tax exemption applicable only to religious publications constituted a violation of the Establishment Clause, Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (http://www.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=489&invol=1), 489 U.S. 1 (1989), and, on the other hand, that application of a general sales and use tax provision to religious publications violates neither the Establishment Clause nor the Free Exercise Clause, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. California Bd. of Equalization (http://www.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=493&invol=378), 493 U.S. 378 (1990).

Well anyone with an internet connection can already get the Bible from Biblegateway (http://www.biblegateway.com/).