US tax agency: Obama appearance at church did not violate political rules

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The US tax agency says the United Church of Christ did not violate political rules when it hosted Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at its convention in Connecticut last year. The Internal Revenue Service says Obama's appearance at the national meeting in June 2007 did not violate federal rules governing the appearance of politicians at religious events. Earlier this year, the IRS had said there were questions that the speech violated restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt organizations. The denomination has denied any wrongdoing. The tax agency says in a letter to the national church that it found the UCC had taken the necessary steps to avoid any appearance that Obama's visit was of a political nature.