Posted on 07/27/2006 8:20:43 AM PDT by xzins
This "massive expense" is no proper business of government.
They can be. If they wish to engage in political activity, they can simply separate that from their tax-exempt activities like the NRA does.
Noncommercial and non-political. It's that simple.
I think it's far better not to have such a "choice" at all by voting in the FairTax. It will also greatly benefit the country's economy.
If this bill passes, expect there to be a Church of Soros by the 2008 elections. There is a damn good reason for not exempting political activities.
Prior to 1954 it was an assumed right of the church to be tax exempt. Now people assume this is some special previledge, but it is not.
In this you and I can fully agree!!!
The IRS needs to be dismantled. A more intrusive useless government agency can't be found.
There is no valid justification to infringe upon the free speech activities of any noncommercial org with taxation. The 1st Amend prohibits infringement of any kind in matters of association and expression. These activities are not commercial enterprise.
Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets regularly spoke about politics. Got them in a lot of trouble, as a matter of fact.
John the Baptist lost his head over the subject.
You are really asking a fair question, though. How does one prevent the abuse of religion such as perpetrated by Jim & Tammy Baker?
My sense is that there would be two types of fraud: one would be morally wrong but not illegal. The other type would be the kind that breaks fraud laws.
In the case of the first, the church trial process for that religious body will be what handles the situation.
Of course, anyone who breaks a law against fraud will be prosecuted for illegal behavior.
I love how this topic starts an internecine war about which group(s) should be taxed, bringing out people's envies and resentments, instead of focusing us on why the government has, or believes it has, the power to deem certain speech or assembly taxable. I think a lot of talk here missed the point, that the government is the enemy of freedom and liberty.
Churches are not subject to taxation per the 1st amendment provision about free exercise. You can't take some of my worship and say it was free; it wasn't free, it was curtailed. And that by act of congress, if they ever get around to doing it.
The NRA is a great organization, nonetheless. I applaud your support of them. :>)
They don't have the protection in the 2nd amendment of specifically being mentioned, though, as the church does in the 1st amendment.
The 1862 tax act also created what is now the IRS but it was then called the Bureau of Internal Revenue, whose first commissioner, George Boutwell, described it as "the largest Government department ever organized."
He seems to have been quite right and it's still with us today ... and still growing.
Noncommercial only. Politics is the art and science of guiding and influencing govm't policy. Outside of the 2nd Amendment, the first's prohibitions on ANY infringemnet apply. There is to be no taxation, or restriction whatsoever. Freedom requires that.
Great comment.
The constitution was created to limit the abuses that governments normally get around to engaging in.
You are confusing free expression with tax free.
The 1st Amend applies to everyone and anyone equally. There is no distinction regarding org contained in it's clear English words.
review
"It is my religion to say from the pulpit: "Abortion is Sin because it's murder. John Kerry supports abortion. Don't support John Kerry."
Jesus would say far more cutting than that. He'd tell John Kerry a parable about a rich, inconsiderate guy that ended up in the burning fire of hell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right on~! (He'd also probably tell JK to get ready, cause that's where he's headed!)
One means of my expressing my faith is the religious act of giving to God.
It is a religious act. The money is thereby set aside as sacred to God. It is no different than if I gave volunteer hours or a box of altar candles.
Should the IRS charge a percentage of market value for volunteer hours? Should they take one out of every five candles?
They CURTAIL my religious act by preventing it from achieving its worship purpose. Therefore, my expression of my religion is not free, but rather, it is curtailed.
If you are I form a non-profit organization and use that organization, e.g.the NRA, to make political statements and all of a sudden we are taxable.
What sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If some churhc claims to be a non-profit, then uses the pulpit to politicize, it should be a taxable entity.
This has nothing to do with free speech in this context, just equality of treatment before the law.
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