Supreme Court upholds religious tax exemption in Wisconsin case

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously reversed a decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court that prevented a Catholic charity from receiving a religious tax exemption.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Catholic Charities Bureau from an exemption to pay into the state’s unemployment compensation system, arguing the organization primarily does secular work.

Catholic Charities appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and a group of 19 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the group’s case, the Center Square previously reported.

The first liberty institute, a religious nonprofit, also fled an amicus brief in support of the group's case. Ryan Gardner, counsel for first liberty institute said he was pleased to hear of the high court's decision. 

"We applaud the Justices for again affirming unanimously that the First Amendment guarantees the right of all Americans to engage in religious exercise defined by the manner dictated by their sincere religious beliefs rather than the government's preferences," Gardner wrote.  

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Wisconsin ruling Thursday.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court which said the Wisconsin court “imposed a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines,” which violated the First Amendment to the constitution.