[IamConservative]

Actually the Amish moving en masse to a community ends up being a financial windfall for that community - they pay their taxes

I have always understood the Amish pay little to no taxes. Everything in an Amish community is owned by the church. Least that's the way it around here.

[muawiyah]

As far as I have ever seen the Amish and other Plain Church people own their land as individuals. Still, it is customary among Mennonite and Anabaptist groups to do a certain amount of communal labor.

In the old days that was the "tax system" in most of rural America.

As things have changed, the Amish, and others, have had to change.

There are monastic orders (Catholic and Orthodox and Buddhist) as well as communal groups like the Shakers, where landownership is in common.

Not sure "land in production" is let off the tax hook though. That's usually termed "unrelated business income" or UBIT in the tax laws.

[Chickensoup]

Everything in an Amish community is owned by the church. Least that's the way it around here.

I dont think that is true.