2007-09-28 02:24:50 · 20 answers · asked by Gypsy Gal 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
When a business makes more than the private sector of huge business ...Well it is time to quit giving churches a free ride.
2007-09-28 02:34:59 · update #1
I think some of the big "commercialized" churches should pay taxes. I can't help but think of how large some of them have gotten through television (Jim & Tammy Baker style). They are just as big as large corporations that pay taxes.
2007-09-28 04:54:00 · answer #1 · answered by Gladys 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, religious institutions should pay taxes.
The tax exemption for churches was fine in the days when there were one or two churches in a town and everyone went. Nobody minded giving the church a break, and the church wasn't in it for the money.
As you say, religion has become big business. We need to rethink our generous attitude toward them. In my area, religious institutions are trying to buy up large pieces of property to build "colleges". If they get their wish, there will also be large housing units where the students and their families will live. Large tracts of land will come off the tax roll, but the need for services will increase greatly. Is this what we intended when we decided to give churches a break?
The abuse of this practice is rampant since the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was enacted in 2000:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20061130.html
We need to dump RLIUPA and get the land and buildings used by religious institutions back on the property tax rolls.
I tell folks who disagree to look at it this way: If the religious institutions pay tax, there will be much more money in the general fund. Then theoretically, everyone else's tax bill should be reduced, and we could then afford to give more to whichever church we choose to support (or not... ;-)
Tax exemptions for religious institutions are being abused. It costs us a lot of money and it's time to put a stop to it.
peace
.
2007-09-28 20:19:34 · answer #2 · answered by OhYeah?! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you read my other answers to your questions today, you will know that I believe that ALL churches should pay equal taxes on all holdings that you and I pay. Why do they get a free ride? There is no good reason they do not pay taxes on income as corporations do, on real estate as we do. NONE! You and I are left to pick up the slack, whether we believe in what a church preaches or not....totally unfair!
2007-09-28 06:15:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
How approximately you're taking a seem at IRS Code area 501(c)3 and notice for your self why Christian church homes do not pay taxes? You sound such as you're unaware of the tax code. To the quantity that an corporation generates an working earnings, it is taxable. As non-earnings agencies, many Christian agencies are tax-exempt. it is not approximately "guts," it is approximately following the regulation. agencies that have not have been given earnings ("non-earnings") are actually not taxed.
2016-10-20 05:21:02 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that churches should be exempt from taxes except when the church opts to enter and have an impact in politics. Under the guise of "it's in the bible", churches and in particular pastors have opted to address abortion issues, gay right issues and democratic issues in general. They support conservative issues that fit their ideals and their agenda. When those churches and pastors do so they should be taxed as any business that seeks to lobby and affect the outcome of political system.
2007-09-28 14:11:09 · answer #5 · answered by malter 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Churches should be separate from government.
If Churches should pay taxes, then they should be a part of the election process, they should get a voice in who gets elected, they should help determine who should decide how much they should be taxed.
While some churches do cross the line, most don't. I would hate to see what happens when all churches enter into the political fray.
2007-09-28 03:46:34 · answer #6 · answered by Dr Jello 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have to agree with you on this. Church has always been exempt as non-profits but that's before they started making HUGE profits and started meddling around in government, throwing their weight around and acting like the big business they truly have become.
If you act like a duck, sound like a duck and look like a duck. You're a Duck!
So if churches are acting like businesses, becoming powerful lobbying groups, continuing to stomp and meddle around in government issues, heavily investing themselves in political issues, then they should in turn be expected to contribute taxes like the rest of us. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to be a part of the world, then pay your way like everybody else. That seems perfectly reasonable and fair to me.
I personally feel there should be a separation of church and state, they keep their exempt status, they do the work of God and restore their image as the spiritual sanctuaries they've always been meant to be.
2007-09-28 06:42:16 · answer #7 · answered by autumlovr 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think that all taxes should be calculated according to the income.
meaning, the higher the income - the higher the percentage, but not to the point of leaving the church or the business without their rightfully earnings...
also, i think that poor people, small businesses, charity organizations should be free from paying taxes.
2007-09-28 02:34:37 · answer #8 · answered by Radio Girl 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Churches are not businesses. They don't produce a product. They don't sell a service in exchange for money. They are not part of the Wall Street Market.
2007-09-28 13:32:48 · answer #9 · answered by Tinman12 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think churches should be taxed on real estate and any
"non-profit" sales only. Everything else coming into a church
is free-will donations , and that presumably,is tax-paid by donor.. (Give unto Caesar ? (but don't get carried away))
2007-09-28 02:42:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋