NEW ORLEANS -- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled an American Civil Liberties Union fight over Louisiana's sales tax exemption is a state matter and doesn't belong in federal court, according to The Associated Press.
At issue are exemptions on purchases of Bibles, songbooks and religious textbooks granted to churches and synagogues by a 1996 law.
In 1998, exemptions covering religious camps and retreats, and purchases by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic Order, were added.
A U.S. district judge had earlier struck down the exemptions, saying they violated separation of church and state. The appeals panel ruling said the ACLU could pursue the matter again in state court.
Citing U.S. Supreme Court principles, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in 1999 threw out sales tax exemptions for religious publications, AP reported. The U.S. Supreme Court did not review the case so there is no nationwide precedent.
