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After concessions by petitioner,1 the issue is whether
amounts received from two churches for playing an organ during
services are taxable under section 61. Petitioner resided in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the time the petition was filed.
During 1997, petitioner received $8,177 from the Oak Grove
Baptist Church (Oak Grove) and $3,437 from the Mt. Zion Baptist
Church (Mt. Zion) for playing the organ during church services.
Oak Grove issued a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and Mt. Zion
issue a Form 1099-MISC to petitioner. Petitioner did not report
any income from either church on his 1997 Federal income tax
return.
Petitioner argues that he is a “‘Minister of Music’ and
play[s] the organ for the glory of God. * * * God does not want
His Church affiliated with the state”. Even if we accept
petitioner’s statements, we fail to understand why the payments
for his services are excludable from gross income.
Section 61(a) provides, inter alia, that “gross income means
all income from whatever source derived, including * * * (1)
Compensation for services”. While the Internal Revenue Code does
provide limited exclusions from gross income, there is no
exclusion for income received by individuals from a church or
1 Petitioner did not report $157 received from the Civil
Service Retirement System in 1997. Respondent determined that
the amount was included in gross income and that the additional
tax under sec. 72(t) was applicable. Petitioner does not dispute
these determinations.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011