Should Churches Remain Tax Exempt?

Question

The recent LA counta abuse case settlement is very telling indeed. A $600+ million settlement, the lions share will be paid through the sale of 51 unused properties in the county alone. And I'm willing to bet there are quite a other properties availiable.

Churches rake in billions of dollars a year through the "business" of faith. Yes, your church is a business since your relationship with God will be just fine if you conduct it at the foot of your bed and Jesus expressed no interest in a $300 million glass cathedral anywhere in the Bible as far as I know.

Add to this the fact that many clergy ACTIVELY insinuate themselves in the secular realm by telling parishoners who to vote for or threatening to withhold Communion from those who vote for a particular candidate.

If you're essentially building a real estate and rare art empire, raking in $ AND insinuating yourself into the secular world, why SHOULDN'T you pony up your share, like any corporation?

Ohhh, dear Kanakalele
You don't know how little you know

"Because of separation of church and state. If churches were to pay taxes, they, like big corporations (tax contributors) would also have a great deal of power play in the public realm...you could no longer EXEMPT religion from the school (as a tax payer, the church would then assume their role in the state affairs) How would you like that?"

Theoretically, yes. Ideally, yes. But that's already a toothless point. How many church groups ALREADY insinuate themselves in school boards accross the country when it come to curriculum topics taugh, sex ed, and a litany of other issues. They have ALREADY assumed a role in state business.

Why shouldn't they pay for the priviledge????

tuberoot:

Most of that list....apples and oranges.

Answer 1

They should never have been tax exempt in the first place.

It simply leads to abuse and coruption.

Answer 2

Because of separation of church and state. If churches were to pay taxes, they, like big corporations (tax contributors) would also have a great deal of power play in the public realm...you could no longer EXEMPT religion from the school (as a tax payer, the church would then assume their role in the state affairs) How would you like that?

Answer 3

501(c) is a provision of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)), listing twenty-eight types of non-profit organizations exempt from some Federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 list the requirements for attaining such exemptions. Many states reference Section 501(c) for definitions of organizations exempt from state taxation as well.

The most common 501(c) organizations include:

* 501(c)(1) — Corporations organized under acts of Congress such as Federal Credit Unions
* 501(c)(2) — Title holding corporations for exempt organizations
* 501(c)(3) — Various charitable, non-profit, religious, and educational organizations (see below)
* 501(c)(4) — Various political education organizations (see below)
* 501(c)(5) — Labor Unions and Agriculture
* 501(c)(6) — Business league and chamber of commerce organizations (see below)
* 501(c)(7) — Recreational club organizations
* 501(c)(8) — Fraternal beneficiary societies
* 501(c)(9) — Voluntary employee beneficiary associations
* 501(c)(10) — Fraternal lodge societies
* 501(c)(14) — Credit Unions
* 501(c)(19) or (23) — U.S. Veterans' posts and auxiliaries


Are you going to eliminate all those others too?

Answer 4

I have to agree that with the ability to purchase real estate, etc, they should have to pay taxes. And another point regarding the discrimination involved: there is no sales tax applied to the purchase of the bible but taxes are applied to all other religions texts. So much for nondiscrimination on religious terms.

Answer 5

you are talking about churches, and there are millions of them, spreed that out and most churches only make enough to pay the bill and the ministerial staff, and the staff does have to pay taxes.
while one company declared 10 billion in profits in one quarter last year, can you guess who?

Answer 6

Churches should not be tax exempt.

Charitable organizations should not be exempt.

Only public services such as volunteer fire departments.

Answer 7

There is no logical reason for making churches exempt.

Answer 8

sure! when the salvation army, greenpeace, naral, habitat for humanity, nra, easter seals, lung assosciation, kidney foundation, greenpeace, peta, boys and girls scouts, american cancer society, red cross, aclu, etc, start paying taxes, then we'll talk...

Answer 9

no, they should pay up.