I pay income taxes and I’m the pastor. In fact, I have to pay double on social security because I pay the employer’s part plus my part. All of my people pay taxes, and I’m betting not one in 10 get any benefit out of the possibility of donations being deductible.
I don’t think there are that many wealthy congregations. The vast majority of churches are 100 attenders or less.
I really didn’t mean that you, as a pastor, did not pay taxes.
But maybe you can help me out. Does the church, its self, operate tax free?
Of course, there are many congregations that are small. But there are many, many churches with large congregations that have great wealth. It will be interesting to see if lawsuits are brought against a specific church/preacher or against the denomination. Sorry if I sound cynical...but at the end of the day it’s all about the benjamins.