United States V. Lee (1982)

United States v. Lee (1982)

This case involved a conflict between the beliefs of the Old Order Amish and government regulations on employment and Social Security. The Amish regard the care ofthe sick and elderly to be one of their religious obligations; as a consequence, they believe that paying Social Security taxes (designed to care for the sick and elderly) would entail acknowledgingthat the government had that task rather than they. Thus, paying Social Security taxes would mean denying an important aspect of their faith.
Lee, an Amish employer, employed other Amish to work on hisfarm and in his carpentry shop, but failed to withhold social security taxes from his employees or to pay the employer's share of such taxes. The IRS assessed him for back taxes and Lee sued, arguingthat the requirement to pay Social Security taxes infringed upon his right to the free exercise of his religion.
Court Decision
Although Congress had exempted Amish employees from participation inthe Social Security program in order to accommodate their religious beliefs, the Supreme Court refused to extend this exemption by allowing Amish employers to also avoid Social Security taxes. Writingfor a unanimous Court, Justice Burger offered two arguments as a basis for this decision. First, pointed out that the Congressional exemption was only for self-employed Amish, not Amish who employedothers; therefore, that exemption could not be construed as being applicable here.
Second, although Burger agreed that Lee's religious beliefs were sincerely held, it simply was not true that allburdens on religion are necessarily unconstitutional. So long as the government can demonstrate a compelling interest, it could be permissible for it to create a limitation on religious liberty:
The taxsystem could not function if denominations were allowed to challenge it because tax payments were spent in a manner that violates their religious belief. Because the broad public interest in...