Here may be a reason they are leaving the Catholic church.
Posted on 09/15/2015 8:28:27 AM PDT by C19fan
The arguments for taxing churches have been around for many years, but there is reason to believe that America’s changing religious demographics will soon give them more traction. As more Americans abandon organized religion, many of the newly secular are unsympathetic to subsidizing religion via the tax code.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The best thing that could happen to churches is to get off of the dole - they would be free to speak on politics and politicians then.
I don’t think it’s the first time he’s done this.
Corporations are taxed on profit. Even if the religious exemption goes away, they are still going to be a non-profit. Businesses are not taxed on gross, only profit.
It should also be illegal for churches to receive federal grants. Then they would be persons, like corporations are.
They are not on the dole.
The lack of a tax is not a fund for the church.
To say this is a subsidy or support is to say that all material goods belong to the state and we are only allowed to keep what we have as a “subsidy”
I strongly support taxing the government and then giving that money back to taxpayers.
“Moreover, relying on churches to provide social services is hardly the mark of an enlightened society.”
Anything that follows this is incapable being worthy of a rational conversation.
And there are too many fallacies in this article to bother with.
The Post is worthy only to wrap fish and to start an upward draft in the fireplace.
Odd use of the word “subsidize”.
The government is not giving anything to you or I or any organization by not taxing us.
The author if this piece is displaying major ignorance of basic economic principals.
I’m not saying I like this argument, but if the constitutions separation of church and state prohibits taxing churches, why shouldn’t freedom of speech protect newspapers?
Shouldn’t really be directly taxing for profits. Just tax the income from both.
And, arguably, paying taxes is not prohibiting the “free expression” of anything, more than taxing my income is prohibiting my “free right” to work for a living.
Churches give to a common pool, out of which the pastor is paid whatever both church (the people) and pastor agree upon. That is sort of a “tax” for the people. The pastor pays taxes on that income. The only deduction the pastor gets is a limited housing allowance but still has to claim any insurance provided as income. The pastor can negotiate with the church for payment of expenses, but they can’t deduct expenses from their taxes. These days the majority of churches simply can’t afford to pay pastor’s expenses. I swallow all of my expenses except the housing allowance. The churches have to carry pretty expensive insurance, pay utilities, janitor, upkeep, furnishes, sound system, S.Sch. literature. It’s not cheap to keep a facility that addresses all the gov. requirements for handicap members. No, taxing churches would be the end of small churches. They would be driven to clandestine house churches. Before long Christians will start moving back to Russia where they have freedom of religion.
Every day, every day, there is a drumbeat in the press and in politics to rid America of that pesky Christianity. Oh, they call it ‘religion’, but Islam is being subsidized to the tune of BILLION$ and no self-respecting Prog would complain about that.
Not taxing a thing is a subsidy. Got it.
Everything belongs first to the government, then through their beneficence the remnants may be granted to the People.
What a warped un-American view. All too common.
Are you suggesting the feds tax on revenue and not income? That business not deduct expenses?
Indeed, just proving that you are tax-exempt, with all of the information reporting that's required, is enough without extracting money from them.
I’m suggesting a 0% corporate income tax.
Tax income when it flows from the organization to people.
You also have to tax benefits that count as income received by people.
Employees of churches already pay income tax.
You also have to tax benefits that count as income received by people.
Employees of churches are already treated the same in this manner as other business.
Here may be a reason they are leaving the Catholic church.
Right—I’m saying for-profit corporations should receive the same treatment.
So I’m betting the author is all for separation of Church and State; but wants the State to tax the Church. I guess that separation thing only goes one direction. The State gets to tax the Church without representation.
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