Appeals court OKs ministers housing allowance

A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled unanimously March 15 that the long-standing clergy allowance, known as the ministerial housing allowance, is constitutional and does not violate the First Amendment clause that prohibits government establishment of religion.
The decision reversed a federal judge’s 2017 opinion that invalidated the allowance as a violation of the establishment clause.
A 1954 federal law permits churches to designate part of eligible ministers’ income as a housing allowance enabling “ministers of the gospel” and leaders of other religious faiths to exclude for federal income tax purposes a portion or all of their gross income. (BP)