People who buy the bible in Georgia must now pay sales tax. That because a federal court struck down a state law that gave an exemption to the bible, testaments and Holy Scriptures. The ruling also struck down a law that allowed religious insitution to sell texts withough charging a sales tax.
The law suit was brought by a woman who ownes a bookstore and a man who complained that he had to pay a tax on other spiritual books like “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance” or the "Bhagavad Gita." Jerry Webber with the Georgia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union argued the case for the plaintiffs. "The government can’t choose which religions are the right religions and which ones are entitled to a tax exemption," he said.
Federal Judge Richard Story wrote in the 18 page decision that allowing a sales tax exemption for selected religious texts violates the first and fourteenth amendment.
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
Federal Judge says Bible must be taxed
Posted by
Susanna Capelouto
at
5/17/2007 04:41:00 PM
Labels: American Civil Liberties Union, Bible, Jerry Webber