From Deseret News archives:
Y. criticizes deans over Mitt e-mail
And LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said Friday that the church never has been nor is it currently being audited by the IRS for "political activity."
Stories this week in The Boston Globe reported on an attempt by Romney to organize some BYU alumni into a grass-roots program supporting his anticipated presidential bid. The Globe reported on a meeting last month that involved at least one LDS Church official and people close to Romney, including his son Josh, and raised questions about whether that involvement might jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the church and BYU.
The LDS Church said in a statement that it "takes issue" with the Globe article's suggestion that the church is "institutionally supporting a political campaign."
The Internal Revenue Service grants tax-exempt status to churches and other organizations, including private universities like BYU. But the IRS says organizations risk losing tax-exempt status if they become involved in political activity on behalf of candidates, and the agency earlier this year vowed to step up enforcement of violations.
BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they are separate, tax-exempt organizations.
Earlier this month, BYU Marriott School of Management dean Ned Hill and associate dean Steve Albrecht sent out an e-mail on a university computer, asking alumni to join them in supporting Romney's potential candidacy.
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said Friday the university has its own policy of political neutrality, which was violated by Hill and Albrecht. Hill was out of town when BYU's general counsel tried to notify both of the error, so Albrecht was the first to learn of the violation.
"(Albrecht) has acknowledged it was an error, and the university took immediate action when we were made aware that the e-mail had been sent," Jenkins told the Deseret Morning News.
IRS spokesman William Brunson told the Deseret Morning News on Friday that he could neither confirm or deny whether the LDS Church is now or has been investigated for any possible violation of IRS rules regarding possible political involvement.
On its Web site, www.lds.org, the church, in response to the Globe report, posted a link to a 2004 letter from its First Presidency, which said the church has a "long-standing policy of neutrality regarding political parties, political platforms and candidates for political office."
Meanwhile, Sheldon Steinbach, a former general counsel for the Washington-based American Council on Education, which represents 1,800 colleges and universities, said BYU and its two deans should have the right to express political opinions.
"As a faculty member or member of the administration, you don't lose your First Amendment rights at the campus gate," Steinbach said in a phone interview.
While Hill and Albrecht may have violated BYU's rules, Steinbach said he did not believe that they had jeopardized the university's tax-exempt status.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com
