Saturday, December 13, 2008

A small victory in the fight against theocracy

Michael and Marla Sklars have a case working through the courts in an effort to have their children's tuition and fees claimed as a tax deduction. Their children attend a private Orthodox Jewish day school.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Sklars’ argument.

"We are pleased that the IRS's denial of the Sklars' claimed deductions was upheld by the Tax Court and the Ninth Circuit," said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division. "While taxpayers may choose to enroll their children in religious schools, the Tax Code should not subsidize this choice."

The implications if this case had succeeded were profound. Children would move from a secular education to a religious education in droves. The implications for American society would have been to increase sectarian religiosity. I don’t think we need more of that…

You can read the legal brief here and the Justice Department Press Release here.

Hat Tip PR Newswire

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