Supreme Court sides with Catholic Charities in case over unemployment taxes

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Catholic Charity in Religious-Rights Case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision in a case involving a Catholic charity in Wisconsin, ruling that the organization is not required to pay unemployment taxes. This ruling is part of a series of cases that the justices are considering this term that deal with religious rights.

The case was brought forward by the Catholic Charities Bureau, which argued that the state of Wisconsin violated the organization’s First Amendment right to religious freedom by requiring them to pay the tax while other faith groups were exempt.

Wisconsin contended that the organization did not qualify for an exemption because its day-to-day activities did not involve religious teachings. This decision comes amidst other religious-rights cases the court is currently considering, including a deadlock on public funding for religious schools and a case regarding religious objections to books in schools.