If a church is taking up a collection during the actual Sunday service which will then be sent to a PAC to campaign for the passage of something which may or may not appear on a future ballot, how is this NOT violating the covenant between that church and the IRS that states that they will keep their tax-exempt status only if they refrain from actively and directly being involved in the political process?
And secondly, if this church is recording the money placed in this collection as 'contributions' and the parishioners treat them as 'contributions' by then claiming them as such on their personal income tax returns, how is this also not aiding and abetting income tax fraud?
See, there are even PRACTICAL reason's why churches need to avoid asking for money which eventually ends-up in the coffers of POLITICAL Action Committees or even worse, in the hands of actual candidates for public office. It could be used by some to circumvent the fact that political contributions are NOT tax deductible.