Washington-the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor of charity groups affiliated with the Catholic Church, saying that religious exemptions of a Wisconsin tax that finances the benefits of unemployment were wrongly denied.
The judges unanimously ruled that the decision of the State illegally discriminated against the groups based on religion under the free exercise clause of the first amendment of the Constitution.
The court rejected A decision of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin that said that the groups that operate under the office of Catholic charities of the Diocese of Superior were not sufficiently religious in the purpose. The State has already provided exemptions for religious institutions.
The first amendment has been interpreted for a long time to exempt the religious entities of taxes.
When writing for the court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the State Court had “imposed a denominational preference by differentiating against religions in theological lines.”
The groups involved in the case (headwaters, Barron County Development Services, Diversified Services and Black River Industries) mainly serve people with developmental disabilities. Its programs are open to non -Catholics.
Wisconsin’s work and labor review commission had concluded that charity groups were not “operated mainly for religious purposes” according to state law.
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin in 2024 confirmed the finding of the State Commission, saying that the activities of the groups were mostly secular and that they do not “try to imbute the participants of the program with the Catholic faith or provide any religious material.”
The Wisconsin unemployment compensation system was established in 1932 to provide a security network for people who lose their job. Similar programs in other states and the Federal Unemployment Tax Law also include religious exemptions.
Catholic groups had a strong support in the Supreme Court for other Christian sects and different religious religions.
