Under Internal Revenue Code Section 107, "ministers of the gospel" may exclude the value of certain housing benefits from the gross income. Recently the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled (here) that this benefit is constitutional. Despite a fantastic (and highly persuasive, I thought -- I signed on) amicus brief written by Adam Chodorow (Arizona State), the 7th Circuit found no violation of the Establishment Clause.
Over at Forbes.com, contributor Peter Reilly argues (here) that because some religious organizations reserve leadership positions for men, the parsonage exception smuggles a form of gender discrimination into the tax code. For example, at Western Lutheran College, male faculty qualify for a tax-free housing allowance, on the grounds that they are "ministers of the gospel" for purposes of IRC Section 107, but women performing the same job and receiving the same benefit must including in their income the value of the housing allowance (offset by a stipend provided by the Western Lutheran College, but of course that stipend is taxable, too).
Food for thought.
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