Berkley Center

In Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California, the Supreme Court considered a challenge to sales and use taxes applied to a religious organization on the grounds that such taxes violated the Free Exercise Clause. In this case, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries objected to the requirement that its religious merchandise be subject to California’s 6 percent sales tax because the tax interfered with their ability to sell their products. The Court held that religious activity may constitutionally be subjected to generally applicable taxes. Unlike the license taxes held unconstitutional in Murdock v. Pennsylvania and Follet v. McCormick, which required religious groups to pay for a license before being able to legally exercise their rights, the taxes here were due only after the sale of merchandise. While the payment of taxes might have marginally reduced the amount of money the ministry had to spend on its religious activities, this reduction was not unconstitutional because it was no different than other generally applicable laws to which all organizations, both religious and secular, must adhere. Thus, sales and use taxes may be constitutionally be applied to religious materials.