Yet I haven't seen people calling for taxes on Mosques. Bunch of hypocrites who think they're so tough targeting innocent Christians yet ignore Islam.
I am very much against taxing churches. There is a separation between church and state and taxes break that separation. The moment taxes get added, the camel has put in his nose under the tent and religious freedom is on its way out the door.
With that being the said, IF the church decides to involve itself in matters of state, then my support against taxation becomes much less firm. Islam is the extreme example of religion involving itself in matters of state. Fundamentalist Christianity seems to involve itself in matters of state entirely too much for my comfort (although nowhere nearly as onerously as Islam).
Yet I haven't seen people calling for taxes on Mosques. Bunch of hypocrites who think they're so tough targeting innocent Christians yet ignore Islam.
It isn't a business model. You might want it to be but it isn't. Hell why don't we bring back the poll tax. If you hate the system call for a Constitutional convention.
Yet I haven't seen people calling for taxes on Mosques. Bunch of hypocrites who think they're so tough targeting innocent Christians yet ignore Islam.
One premise is that if you are taxed or a church is taxed then you and the church have a say in how the government is run. This violated separation of church and state.
My church and other churches also give funds to people that are down on their luck or help people in the community or go to the aid of international needs for humanitarian aid for things like floods, hurricanes, Famine, Water, Food, medicine, etc. In fact churches often are able to step in and help people in a crisis a lot more efficiently and faster than any government agency.
One example is the churches that donate to christian charity give money to other agencies like the Red Cross and the Red Cross distributes that to poorer Americans. They do this because some people feel uncomfortable going to a church.
You could but they also scrutinize legitimacy and could go to jail for fraud/evasion if deemed such as many have. IRS is not stupid.
Why? Who is to say that your religion is more "legitimate" than mine?
Only Jehovah's Witnesses should be exempt since they are true christians.
And why is that?
Most of those Catholic hospitals now belong to national chains which are non-profits in name only.Catholic hospitals alone treat 1 in 6 people in US. Of course they have thousands of schools. The used to have thousands of orphanages before Democrats began aborting kids off - who they now want to replace with illegals - who will reinvigorate the church Obama and his Hollywood Nancy boys want to shut down .
Most of those Catholic hospitals now belong to national chains which are non-profits in name only.
The thread is spinning its wheels now. Folks who would like to see religious institutions keep their tax-privileged status keep pointing to the good works many religious organizations provide while missing the point that much of what religious organizations do is not much different than what secular social clubs do, without the tax benefits. If I'm a member of the Stone Cutters Lodge and I donate $100 to the Stone Cutters' Hospital for Children, the donation would be tax deductible to me. If I donate $100 to the Stone Cutters' Beer Fund that donation would not be tax deductible to me as the money was being used to provide a member service. Dues to professional organizations are similar. The portion of my dues that covers the nifty car decal and keyring are not tax deductible while the portion that goes to fund research is.
Donations to religious institutions are 100% tax deductible regardless of use. The xx% that goes to charitable works is tax deductible just as it would be for similar activities carried out by a secular social club but so is the portion that pays the preacher, pays for the building, and pays for other member services. Merely because the religious organization professes to be a religious organization the donors reap a tax benefit not available to donors to similar secular organizations. Greens fees are not tax deductible to the payer so why should paying a preacher be tax deductible to the payer?
Again, the fact that much of what religious organizations do is not charity work but member services has been ignored.Do a lot of secular social clubs have someone who gets up a 2 am 3x a week to give a dying person their last rights so they get a little bit of comfort in the last minutes of their life? Are they led by someone who has sworn off most wordly possessions, having a wife and kids, and lives in a rectory that was furnished in the late 60's?
My church takes in about 1800 in donations a week, that money is not used to enrich some rich church elite, it goes to support the church community, pay the mortgage, and there's just a little left over to help support an orphanage in Columbia. If it all of a sudden had to pay taxes, it would be devastating. Also, I have never heard the Priest endorse a politician. He has talked about certain political topics that are relevant in today's society, explained where he and the church stands on those topics, has explained what the bible teaches, etc... and there's nothing wrong with that.
Usually he talks about forgiveness, charity, being kind, etc...
Anyone who thinks this should be taxed is a moron.
Do a lot of secular social clubs have someone who gets up a 2 am 3x a week to give a dying person their last rights so they get a little bit of comfort in the last minutes of their life? Are they led by someone who has sworn off most wordly possessions, having a wife and kids, and lives in a rectory that was furnished in the late 60's?
My church takes in about 1800 in donations a week, that money is not used to enrich some rich church elite, it goes to support the church community, pay the mortgage, and there's just a little left over to help support an orphanage in Columbia. If it all of a sudden had to pay taxes, it would be devastating. Also, I have never heard the Priest endorse a politician. He has talked about certain political topics that are relevant in today's society, explained where he and the church stands on those topics, has explained what the bible teaches, etc... and there's nothing wrong with that.
Usually he talks about forgiveness, charity, being kind, etc...
Anyone who thinks this should be taxed is a moron.
religion isnt a club. again what do you do if they are short this year? shut them down? hows that jell with free exercise of religion. it's doesnt thats why they are exemptMost of those Catholic hospitals now belong to national chains which are non-profits in name only.
The thread is spinning its wheels now. Folks who would like to see religious institutions keep their tax-privileged status keep pointing to the good works many religious organizations provide while missing the point that much of what religious organizations do is not much different than what secular social clubs do, without the tax benefits. If I'm a member of the Stone Cutters Lodge and I donate $100 to the Stone Cutters' Hospital for Children, the donation would be tax deductible to me. If I donate $100 to the Stone Cutters' Beer Fund that donation would not be tax deductible to me as the money was being used to provide a member service. Dues to professional organizations are similar. The portion of my dues that covers the nifty car decal and keyring are not tax deductible while the portion that goes to fund research is.
Donations to religious institutions are 100% tax deductible regardless of use. The xx% that goes to charitable works is tax deductible just as it would be for similar activities carried out by a secular social club but so is the portion that pays the preacher, pays for the building, and pays for other member services. Merely because the religious organization professes to be a religious organization the donors reap a tax benefit not available to donors to similar secular organizations. Greens fees are not tax deductible to the payer so why should paying a preacher be tax deductible to the payer?
religion isnt a club. again what do you do if they are short this year? shut them down? hows that jell with free exercise of religion. it's doesnt thats why they are exempt
and thats a misnomer anyway. any staff pays same taxes on salary as any other worker. only things they are exempt from are things that could shut them down for failure to pay. property/retained earnings
One would have to tax all houses of worship equally.
How would the tax then be determined.
Property Value - very subjective - difficult to run comparisons
Membership
Physical buildings/location - different per religion group
you have states, local municipalities and the Feds.
IF Church A gets a different taxing bill than Church B; it could be considered to be the government dictating a religious preference.
Big can of worms