For the second time in four years, a federal judge in Madison has ruled that it’s unconstitutional to give tax free housing allowances to clergy members. Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of Madison’s Freedom from Religion Foundation, which said the federal tax break discriminates against secular persons. Crabb issued the same ruling in 2013 but the federal appeals court in Chicago later threw it out, saying the foundation was not directly affected and had no legal standing to file suit — so in 2015, the foundation asked the I-R-S for the tax benefit and was turned down, thus claiming the right to sue. Foundation co president Annie Laurie Gaylor expects her group to prevail on appeal. GuideStone Financial Resources calls the tax break “the most important tax benefit available to ministers” — and federal officials say U-S clergy get a combined 800-million dollars a year from it.