LDS Church lobbying on taxes
Some legislators uneasy with the contacts; others see no problem
Several legislators who spoke with church lobbyists and attorneys said they saw nothing improper with the contacts. "If they had not called me (to ask for a meeting), I would have called them," said task force co-chairman Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo.
Other legislators, however, not only worry that the process could be a breech of separation of church and state but that church leaders might be expecting special consideration from member legislators.
Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, contacted by the Deseret Morning News, said he came away from a meeting a week ago with three church officials, including LDS Church registered lobbyist William Evans, "a little confused. While it was not directly said, I came away with the distinct impression that this was an outreach by a lobbyist that was not done in a vacuum but with the approval of the First Presidency," the three-member governing body of the 12-million member church.
Hughes, an active LDS Church member, said the charitable deduction "was not (portrayed as) a spiritual litmus test." But the tone of the discussion caused him concern. "The communication that I came away with is that there isn't a line of demarkation between the administrative and the spiritual eye in trying to make the best decisions for the church," Hughes said.
"The church joins with most charitable organizations in the belief that our community is best served by providing tax incentives for the support of charitable activities. All such organizations play a vital role in providing for society's poor and needy, education and the arts, and in meeting other important social needs."
The church does not oppose a flat rate income tax per se, leaders have said. But a true flat rate income tax has no deductions, including no deduction for charitable giving, which the church wants maintained in Utah.
The task force is to recommend tax changes to the 2006 Legislature. More than 80 percent of the 104 part-time legislators are members of the LDS Church.
Word that the newspaper was calling task force members about church lobbying is apparently altering meeting plans. Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, who was to meet Wednesday with Evans in the church offices, said he received a call at 8 a.m. postponing the meeting indefinitely.
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