Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. State Board of Equalization

*1273 Opinion

The Jimmy Swaggart Ministries (Ministries) appeals a judgment refusing a refund of sales and use taxes paid under protest to the State of California. Ministries contends the taxes burden the free exercise of religion, excessively entangle the state with religion and offend the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Ministries also contends insufficient facts support findings it was a “retailer” within the meaning of the tax laws or that it had a sufficient nexus to California to allow imposition of the sales and use taxes, that the trial court committed various evidentiary errors and erroneously denied it leave to amend its complaint. We conclude the sales and use taxes are constitutional and that the record does not support Ministries’s other contentions. Therefore, we affirm.

Facts

During the period in question (1974-1981), Ministries was a nonprofit religious corporation affiliated with the Assemblies of God church. 1 Ministries describes itself as “an evangelistic outreach to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ” by all available means, including “evangelistic crusades,” radio and television broadcasting (both as owner and broadcaster), recording music and preaching,…