Legal Opinion
Maureen A. Staples and Michael P. Staples v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Decided July 1, 1987No. 86-1376PublishedCited by 13 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
FAGG, Circuit Judge.
Maureen and Michael Staples appeal the denial of a federal tax deduction sought for payments made to the Church of Scientology. The tax court, on the authority of Graham v. Commissioner, 83 T.C. 575 (1984), held that because the Staples’ participation in their church’s individualized religious practices was conditioned on the payment of set fees, those payments were not charitable contributions within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. § 170. The First Circuit recently accepted this argument in Hernandez v. Commissioner, 819 F.2d 1212 (1st Cir.1987). We, however, cannot agree with…
2Cases cited14 opinions
- Murdock v. PennsylvaniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1943
- Helvering v. BlissSupreme Court of the United States · 1934
- Harold Dejong and Marjorie J. Dejong v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1962
- United States v. American Bar EndowmentSupreme Court of the United States · 1986
- Church of Scientology v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1984
9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by13 opinions
- Hernandez v. CommissionerSupreme Court of the United States · 1989
- Christians v. Crystal Evangelical Free Church ( in Re Young)United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Minnesota · 1992
- Thomas Lee and Betty Lorraine Christiansen v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1988
- Ethel B. Miller v. Internal Revenue Service, Tobias C. Tolzmann Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Amicus CuriaeCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1987
- Jeffrey Harold Neher v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1988
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.