Wisconsin Court Nixes Catholic Charities Unemployment Tax Break

Catholic Charities Bureau Inc. and four of its subsidiaries aren’t operated primarily for religious purposes so they don’t qualify for Wisconsin’s religious purposes exemption from unemployment taxation, a state appeals court ruled.

“The fact that a church operates, supervises, controls, or supports an organization in charity with a religious motivation does not, by itself, mean that the organization is operated primarily for religious purposes,” Judge Lisa K. Stark wrote for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in a ruling issued Tuesday. “While the Catholic Church’s tenet of solidarity compels it to engage in charitable acts, the religious motives of ...