Topeka — A Kansas court has ruled that Westboro Baptist Church has to pay taxes on the truck it uses to travel to protests.
The church frequently pickets military funerals, arguing that the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the church's protests were a reflection of religious beliefs, but were also political and secular in nature. The ruling means the 2002 Ford F-150 truck used to drive to protests is taxable.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman for the church, said the church would appeal the ruling to the Kansas Supreme Court.
"They said, 'We don't like your religion, so we're not going to give it credibility,"' she said.
Taxes on a 2002 F-150 amount to about $130 a year, according to the Shawnee County appraiser's office. But Phelps-Roper said the case is about more than that amount.
The church, led by Fred Phelps, submitted numerous Bible verses and the text of picket signs in court filings to back up their claim that the protests were religious in nature.
But the county's Board of Tax Appeals found that 40 percent of the picket signs had no religious content, and that merely saying a particular group or individual was a homosexual or supported homosexuals did not constitute religious speech.
The court also noted that many of the church's targets are politicians.
"In essence, WBC is advocating a reform of government whenever it pickets a public or elected official," the ruling said.
Phelps-Roper said it was possible that rulings like Friday's could set a precedent allowing authorities to tax any religion they disagreed with.
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cds (anonymous) says…
When is someone going to stop the huge waste of the Courts time and our tax money for these "people" who have no respect for others? Pay your dang taxes, oh, wait you can't afford to now.
tanzer (anonymous) says…
Actually - this sets a precedent for not allowing people to hide thier political activities behind a veil of "religion" when they are in fact not completely religious in nature. Not all behaviour based on religious beleifs is religious. For example, just because you practice communion and pray before each meal does not make all acts of eating and drinking sacred or religious.
WHY (anonymous) says…
Lets just tax all religions. We can use the money to pay for mental health facilities for the members.