Ezel / Tax Rulings / RI

Could the Rhode Island Tax Administrator declare the sales-tax exemption for Bibles and other canonized scriptures unconstitutional?

Short answer No. The Tax Administrator refused to decide the constitutional challenge because questions about a statute's constitutionality are reserved to the judiciary. The order did not decide whether the exemption violated church-state principles or whether the petitioner's taxed secular-book purchase was entitled to relief.
State
RI
Ruling
Declaratory Order 1994-05
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1994-12-07
Issued by
Rhode Island Division of Taxation
Requested by
A petitioner who purchased a taxed secular book
Topics
sales tax exemption bibles religious texts constitutional questions administrative authority
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ask about yours and see what current Rhode Island tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1994
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This official 1994 Rhode Island Division of Taxation order does not decide the constitutionality of the canonized-scripture exemption or grant relief on the petitioner's taxed secular-book purchase. It states only that constitutional questions are reserved to the judiciary and the Tax Administrator could not issue the requested opinion. The order contains no express reliance or duration clause. Verify later judicial and statutory developments before relying. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

The Tax Administrator would not decide whether Rhode Island's sales-tax exemption for Bibles and other canonized scriptures was unconstitutional. The order says constitutional questions are reserved to the judiciary, so the Division could not issue the requested opinion.

The petitioner had purchased a secular book and paid tax. The petitioner asked the Tax Administrator to declare R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-30(EE) unconstitutional because it exempted canonized scriptures of tax-exempt nonprofit religious organizations while secular books remained taxable.

The request cited Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1 (1989), and was made under § 42-35-8 and a Rhode Island Superior Court order in Ahlburn, et al. v. R. Gary Clark, Tax Administrator, No. P.C. 93-4595 (November 3, 1993).

The Division quoted the exemption but did not analyze or uphold it on the merits. Its only conclusion was that the agency lacked authority to answer the constitutional question.

What this means for you

Taxpayers challenging a statute

A declaratory-ruling request to the Tax Administrator was not the forum for this constitutional claim. The order directed that kind of question to the courts.

Booksellers and publishers

This order did not decide the current tax treatment of secular books or the continuing validity of the scripture exemption. It records an agency-jurisdiction limit, not a substantive tax holding.

Tax and constitutional-law professionals

Do not cite this order as approval or rejection of the exemption's constitutionality. Its holding is procedural: the Tax Administrator could not decide the issue.

Common questions

What did § 44-18-30(EE) exempt? The quoted provision exempted the sale, storage, use, or consumption of canonized scriptures of tax-exempt nonprofit religious organizations, including Old and New Testament versions.

Did the Tax Administrator find the exemption constitutional? No. The agency declined to reach the question.

Did the order find the exemption unconstitutional? No. It left the issue to the judiciary.

Did the petitioner receive a ruling that the secular-book tax was invalid? No. The order contains no such relief.

What was the final holding? Questions about the constitutionality of statutes are reserved to courts, so the Tax Administrator could not issue the requested opinion.

Citations and references

  • R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-35-8 — declaratory-ruling authority invoked by the request.
  • R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-30(EE) — canonized-scripture exemption challenged by the petitioner.
  • Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1 (1989) — U.S. Supreme Court decision cited by the petitioner.
  • Ahlburn, et al. v. R. Gary Clark, Tax Administrator, R.I. Superior Court, Providence County, No. P.C. 93-4595 (November 3, 1993) — court order referenced in the request.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling Request No. 94-05

Declaratory Rulings

Ruling Request No. 94-05

Re: Request for Ruling Regarding the Taxation of Bibles and Other Canonized Scriptures

Request for Ruling

Taxpayer requests a declaratory ruling concerning the taxation of bibles and other canonized scriptures under the sales and use tax law. This request is made pursuant to R.I.G.L. 42-35-8 and the Rhode Island Superior Court Order in Ahlburn, et al v. R. Gary Clark, Tax Administrator , R.I. Superior Court, Providence County, No. P.C. 93-4595 (November 3, 1993).

Facts

1. The petitioner purchased a "secular book" and the purchase was taxed.

Ruling Requested

The petitioner requests the Tax Administrator to declare R.I.G.L. 44-18-30 (EE) unconstitutional

Discussion

R.I.G.L. 44-18-30 provides in its pertinent part:

44-18-30. Gross receipts exempt from sales and use taxes. -- There are exempted from the taxes imposed by this chapter the following gross receipts:

(EE) Bibles. From the sale and from the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of any canonized scriptures of any tax exempt nonprofit religious organization including but not limited to the old testament and new testament versions.

The petitioner alleges that the taxation of secular books while exempting bibles and other canonized scriptures is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state citing Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock , 489 U.S. 1 (1989).

Ruling

Questions regarding the constitutionality of laws are reserved to the judiciary. Accordingly this office cannot issue an opinion as to the constitutionality of the challenged statute.

**R. Gary Clark

Tax Administrator

December 7, 1994**

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