Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Standing
Plaintiff-co-presidents of organization of atheists and agnostics lacked standing to bring instant lawsuit challenging on 1st Amendment grounds “parsonage exemption” under section 107(2) of Internal Revenue Code that excludes value of employer-provided housing benefits from gross income of “minister of the gospel.” While plaintiffs received housing allowance from instant organization, they failed to exclude said income on their tax returns, and neither plaintiff filed claim for refund after payment of taxes. As such, plaintiffs’ lawsuit amounted to nothing more than generalized grievance about constitutionality of section 107(2), which was insufficient to support their standing to bring instant action.