Posted on 06/29/2015 7:01:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage makes it clearer than ever that the government shouldn't be subsidizing religion and non-profits
Two weeks ago, with a decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on the way, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah introduced the First Amendment Defense Act, which ensures that religious institutions won’t lose their tax exemptions if they don’t support same-sex marriage. Liberals tend to think Sen. Lee’s fears are unwarranted, and they can even point to Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion in Friday’s case, which promises “that religious organizations and persons [will be] given proper protection.”
But I don’t think Sen. Lee is crazy. In the 1983 Bob Jones University case, the court ruled that a school could lose tax-exempt status if its policies violated “fundamental national public policy.” So far, the Bob Jones reasoning hasn’t been extended to other kinds of discrimination, but someday it could be. I’m a gay-rights supporter who was elated by Friday’s Supreme Court decision — but I honor Sen. Lee’s fears.
I don’t, however, like his solution. And he’s not going to like mine. Rather than try to rescue tax-exempt status for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of race or sexuality, we need to take a more radical step. It’s time to abolish, or greatly diminish, their tax-exempt statuses.
The federal revenue acts of 1909, 1913, and 1917 exempted nonprofits from the corporate excise and income taxes at the same time that they allowed people to deduct charitable contributions from their incomes. In other words, they gave tax-free status to the income of, and to the income donated to, nonprofits. Since then, state and local laws nearly everywhere have exempted nonprofits from all, or most, property tax and state income tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Ray Charles could have seen this coming!
It's not even 72 hours later and it Begins!
No, Mr. Oppenheimer. The government should get out of the business of regulating marriage, religion, and anything near, far and in-between.
You want to end the exemptions? Go flat tax and call it a day.
Meanwhile they have no problem with the Clinton Foundation which uses 90% plus of their income on salaries and overhead.
And I don't care even if they use some of those dollars to by gaudy Chrystal Cathedrals. That's a lot closer to art than much of what the government subsidizes through our tax dollars.
Plus nobody holds a gun to your head and forces you to contribute to any church,
Liberalsm is the worst at discrimination
“How is gay marriage going to affect YOU?”
Just over a weekend, and now declaring our basic rights are to be assaulted.
I thought this was about "love".
Amen to that!!!
Isn’t the author Dan Savage’s boifriend?
Here we go...And the Country has come full circle. The reason it began..and the reason it will end. They never get it.
—starting with CAIR, Planned Parenthood , the Southern Poverty Law Center , then the neighborhood mosque—?-—Sure-—(sarc)
Are you saying because of the mere fact you’re Jewish, you’re not a friend of Christianity? That’s ridiculous.
Nothing more despicable than a self loathing Bolshevik jew. How is government subsidizing religion? If you want to tax the buildings they worship in then they’ll just go meet in smaller groups within their own homes. People should not have to pay a “tax” just so that they can worship.
And the Bill of Rights was part of the joke....and in time...there would be no rights...and we would all be criminals subject to the punishment of the government.
That didn’t take long.
RE: subsidizing religion
Liberals always think in that money belongs to the government’s and not the people.
If a mafia don takes $100 a week from a small business, but later decides to not do it at all, is he SUBSIDIZING that small business?
To a liberal’s mindset, he is subsidizing the business.
Get ready for much much more activism by Homosexuals. This ruling only fuels the fire. Prepare for aggressive attacks and incursions upon every aspect of traditional values.
Here is my first prediction...Mainstreaming all things homosexual into early public schools. Teaching Homo History will over shadow traditional American History. Nothing our nation has stood for or fought for will surpass the telling of the Homo Struggle.
Imagine the worst outcome possible and you will still fall short of what the SCOTUS decision has wrought.
Did Caligula write that op ed?
Obama wants his statue in all churches
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