The issue of churches being tax exempt has been a war fought for quite some time and liberals have fought to eliminate churches being tax exempt for quite some time and courts have stayed away from it or outright rejected taking it on.
BTW, if churches aren’t making a profit, and aren’t supposed to be making a profit anyway, how can they be hit very hard if they end up having to pay taxes and thus become a Hobby Lobby-type business?
Deductible contributions.
“BTW, if churches aren’t making a profit, and aren’t supposed to be making a profit anyway, how can they be hit very hard if they end up having to pay taxes and thus become a Hobby Lobby-type business?”
Donors lose the ability to get a charitable deduction.
Someone else raised the gift tax exclusion, but that only is effective for estate and gift taxes, not income taxes.
Churches will still be hit with real property taxes even if they are losing money. As well as other taxes not based on making a profit.
The question also is what will be allowed to be deducted against revenues once they are considered a for profit business.
Two sides to nonprofit. One is income tax which is probably non issue for most churches. The second is tax deductions which is an issue for members.
“BTW, if churches aren’t making a profit, and aren’t supposed to be making a profit anyway, how can they be hit very hard if they end up having to pay taxes and thus become a Hobby Lobby-type business?”
Donations become taxable income, and are not tax-deductible for the donors (neither are gifts, like vehicles, food, etc), so obviously donations will drop. Expenses now have to be distinguished between deductible and non-deductible, and the churches will have to hire accountants to file business tax returns, calculate depreciation of assets, etc. Minimum wage laws and all the other federal employment regulations apply, so forget volunteer Sunday school teachers, etc.
It’s the way they pay salaries, and the property tax schedules. Those are the two that will reduce their ability, and income tax deductions. Say for someone like me who donates over 5K a year, I can absorb that tax elimination. But some people can’t and just won’t give anymore. We’ll see what happens soon. The Democrats have wanted to put a gag on the Churches. (Which is weird because they campaign in Black Churches all the time)
There are other taxes to consider. Real estate tax, business license, usually based on gross receipts, personal property tax and on and on and on.
Good question. I would assume that churches would have more freedom if they weren't attached by the tax strings. Many of us no longer get to deduct our donations so it makes no never mind to me as far as making my offering and other donations.
I wonder what it takes to be in a position where you can get a break for religious offerings these days.
Churches grow due to contributions to them. At present, contributions are tax deductible. When the tax exemptions go away, there will be a HUGE loss of revenue in the church. There will, of course, be those that truly believe and will continue to contribute, but most will fall away. This will devastate the churches. courts have stayed away from it or outright rejected taking it on.
Until now. Deviant sexual behavior has never been a protected class. It is now. It is on par with race. A court would likely side with someone claiming discrimination based on race, and now that deviant marriage is a "civil right", they will side with the deviants.
A little common sense goes a long way, and common sense dictates this is where we are headed.