Shun Politics, Tax-Exempt Groups Told

Using the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries as an example, the Internal Revenue Service served notice on tax-exempt organizations Friday to stay out of partisan politics.

The Swaggart organization, based in Baton Rouge, La., accepted an IRS finding that it had violated the rules of its tax-exempt status by endorsing Pat Robertson for President in 1988.

To prevent a recurrence, the ministry agreed to change its organizational structure and create a special compliance committee. As part of the agreement with the IRS, the organization promised: “Under no circumstances will any of JSM’s resources, including financial resources, personnel or facilities, be utilized to participate or intervene in a political campaign.”

The IRS could have revoked the ministry’s tax exemption because of the violation. “But our goal is not to put folks out of business,” Mark Owens of the IRS exempt-organizations division, said Friday.

The agreement, which ended a long IRS investigation of the ministry, was signed by evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, its president.

The ministry has a tax exemption as an organization operated exclusively for religious purposes. The exemption allows the ministry to avoid tax on most of its income and allows contributors to take a tax deduction for their donations.