Lawsuit challenges Georgia's sales tax exception for Bibles

Lawsuit challenges Georgia's sales tax exception for Bibles

November 16, 2005

ATLANTA -- Acting on behalf of a seller of spiritual books, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit arguing that a Georgia law exempting the Bible from sales taxes is discriminatory and should be extended to all publications dealing with the meaning of life.

''If they're not taxing someone's holy scriptures, they shouldn't be taxing anyone's,'' said Candace Apple, who owns the Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs.

The law, from the 1950s, exempts from taxes the Bible as well as ''similar books commonly recognized as being Holy Scripture.''
(snip/...)

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-aclu16.html

I'm not sure it needs to be a freedom of religion issue. But if judges get cute and say that only Christian works are holy then, well, we're in curious territory there.

even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that bibles are taxable. Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1, 1989.

that states can tax bibles -- not that they have to.

As for this lawsuit, I'm assuming it happened because the bookstore owner asked the tax commission for an exemption for a non-christian holy book and was denied.