U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court rules for Catholic charities groups in quest for state exemption to unemployment tax
A religious exemption to Wisconsin’s unemployment tax violates the First Amendment as applied to a group of Catholic charities in northern Wisconsin that were denied the tax break, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a unanimous opinion. (Photo from Shutterstock)
A religious exemption to Wisconsin’s unemployment tax violates the First Amendment as applied to a group of Catholic charities in northern Wisconsin that were denied the tax break, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a unanimous opinion.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court had held the Catholic Charities Bureau and four entities that it operates weren’t entitled to the religious exemption because their activities are primarily secular in nature. The Wisconsin Supreme Court cited two reasons for its decision: the charities do not proselytize and do not restrict their services to Catholics only.
But that interpretation violates the First Amendment’s mandate of government neutrality between religions, wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the high court in the June 5 opinion.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s application of the tax law “imposed a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines,” Sotomayor said.
“Much like a law exempting only those religious organizations that perform baptisms or worship on Sundays, an exemption that requires proselytization or exclusive service of co-religionists establishes a preference for certain religions based on the commands of their religious doctrine,” Sotomayor said.
Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separate concurring opinions.
The case is Catholic Charities Bureau Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission.
Hat tip to SCOTUSblog, which had early coverage of the decision.
See also:
SCOTUS once again grapples with First Amendment religion clauses in Wisconsin employment tax case
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