Posted on 06/29/2015 7:01:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage makes it clearer than ever that the government shouldn't be subsidizing religion and non-profits
Two weeks ago, with a decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on the way, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah introduced the First Amendment Defense Act, which ensures that religious institutions won’t lose their tax exemptions if they don’t support same-sex marriage. Liberals tend to think Sen. Lee’s fears are unwarranted, and they can even point to Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion in Friday’s case, which promises “that religious organizations and persons [will be] given proper protection.”
But I don’t think Sen. Lee is crazy. In the 1983 Bob Jones University case, the court ruled that a school could lose tax-exempt status if its policies violated “fundamental national public policy.” So far, the Bob Jones reasoning hasn’t been extended to other kinds of discrimination, but someday it could be. I’m a gay-rights supporter who was elated by Friday’s Supreme Court decision — but I honor Sen. Lee’s fears.
I don’t, however, like his solution. And he’s not going to like mine. Rather than try to rescue tax-exempt status for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of race or sexuality, we need to take a more radical step. It’s time to abolish, or greatly diminish, their tax-exempt statuses.
The federal revenue acts of 1909, 1913, and 1917 exempted nonprofits from the corporate excise and income taxes at the same time that they allowed people to deduct charitable contributions from their incomes. In other words, they gave tax-free status to the income of, and to the income donated to, nonprofits. Since then, state and local laws nearly everywhere have exempted nonprofits from all, or most, property tax and state income tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Charities are tax "exempt" because of the perceived good they do, or potentially do for the country's people, without which, much or all of that burden might be shifted to the taxpayer.
The preaching of Bible-believing churches (can't speak for liberal main line churches or denominations), and their training of young people especially, go a very long way to preventing . . . .
unwanted pregnancies and teen pregnancies; abortions; drug and alcohol abuse; spousal abuse; child abuse; indingency; joblessness; many other social problems that present huge costs to society.
If their were no churches, no private organizations to help curb these problems, the cost would end up being entirely on the back of the taxpayer.
Of course, that makes the liberals and progressives smile because that is exactly what they want . . . . government takeover and control of all such.
The liberals and progressives actually do believe that they know better than the remainder of us just how to solve these problems, and that centralized government is the answer to all ills.
The truth is that privately operated charities and churches are much more careful frugal, and efficient with money than government ever could or would be.
You want to end the exemptions? Go flat tax and call it a day.
What you said.
I keep reading this observation that government should get out of marriage altogether.
The thing is that laws and the courts have a role (and a legitimate one) in the dissolution of marriage. Government is involved and there really is no practical substitute (something like arbitration will lead to uneven and unpredictable results - there needs to be laws to give stability to the process).
“It’s time to abolish, or greatly diminish, their tax-exempt statuses.”
There are a zillion tax exemptions available to individuals and businesses. A discussion of eliminating tax exemptions needs to include them.
A rewrite and simplification of the tax code would have to include eliminating a lot of these exemptions.
Don't be silly.
The noob is saying by the mere fact that one has a Jewish sounding name, one cannot be a friend of Christianity!
Occam’s Razor Answer: They’re running out of other things to tax.
Kennedy's dicta promises nothing of the sort. He merely said the religious would continue to be allowed to believe as they choose and speak those beliefs. As Robert's dissent pointed out, the opinion specifically avoided any mention of the "exercise" of religious beliefs (as the 1st Amendment provides) or whether the first amendment freedoms of religion are trumped by the special rights for gays which the court invented on Friday.
The problem is that The State decided which religions qualify for tax exemption.
This puts The Government in the business of determining theological purity.
Was it Learned Hand who said ‘Neither this court nor any other can determine what is a legitimate religious faith’?
I’m sure the IRS is working on this. Paging Lois..
RE: Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion in Friday’s case, which promises “that religious organizations and persons [will be] given proper protection.”
By Whom?
For instances, did the New Mexico Christian Photographer, the Colorado Baker, the Washington Florist, the Iowa Lodge owner receive any proper protection?
ANSWER: NOPE.
They were fined, and a few are in danger of closing their business.
Actually, I agree with you. End the entire concept of "non-profits" as a special class of organization. Repeal section 501(c). Make ALL the "non-profits" like the Clinton Foundation and the rest be regular corporations, taxed at the corporate rate. There is FAR more left-wing money in non-profits than conservative non-profits.
Level the playing field -- with a flame-thrower.
Too many priests and pastors are frightened of losing their tax-exempt status and let that control how they speak from the pulpit. I think it’s time to cut strings, pay taxes and speak freely about morals and how people should live their lives in this growingly Roman society.
Let’s end tax exempt status for everyone and every organization ... and then lower taxes overall.
While you’re at it, Mr. Oppenheimer, what about ending the tax exemptions for educational institutions?
Kennedy has pledged to protect their right to complain about it and not like it.
The power to tax is the power to destroy.
Our whole “taxation” system has ALLOWED an evil system (the Leviathan) to create (and buy and control) ALL ideas of our children to make the masses into useful idiots. It has allowed privacy to be destroyed and Big Brother to monitor ALL our actions which is fundamentally unconstitutional and dehumanizing (evil). The IRS has to be removed.
We know that all government is EVIL—so that is why it was LIMITED (until the Progressives (Marxists) destroyed our Constitution—deliberately), and set up a system so they could be RICH and SET FOR LIFE by OUR LITERAL SLAVERY which pays for this evil unconstitutional system with their judges and lawyers, and secret societies, etc, for a secret, incoherent government, which forces irrationality and evil on our children 24/7. All Justice (virtue) Systems have to promote public virtue and transparency and Freedom and the understanding of our Founding Documents where we are NOT SLAVES of the STATE-—which we are today. We are SLAVES-—all of us if we are on the grid..
With the German Psychology (Wundt/Fichte) which invaded our universities in the late 1800s, we have allowed a few elites to control ALL PERCEPTIONS with taxpayers funding and controlled by elites through their FOUNDATIONS which bribe politicians, and monitor WHAT and HOW our children “think” (data banks/unconstitutional), filling them with curricula which has been controlled by these Germans/Atheists who believed that there is no God, no Free Will, no dignity in human beings.
A Shadow Government was created—by Foundations and having a few elites control who had “permission” (licenses) to “teach” (brainwash) our children. They founded Teacher colleges and Universities like Columbia to control the allowed Ideas (pop culture) which could be given to the masses (curricula which destroyed Classical Education which destroyed the transfer of our Traditions and Wisdom of the Ages, which gave Western Civ. the Age of Reason (the ability to use critical thinking.)
The elites destroyed Classical Education (except for their children) and replaced it with operant conditioning into stupidity-—and the elimination of Common Sense and Reason and Individuality/Autonomy-—for the Prussian system of dependence and slavery (Hitler Youth Mind).
This Watson-type of “operant conditioning” for a 100 years to finally destroy Reason, Christianity, Virtue, and make the IRRATIONAL, Rational (Fichte’s “Snow is Black”—Marxist Gender Theory—man is a woman, sodomizing others is a Virtue and has “DIGNITY”) we are now seeing the evil results-——people taking Pride in Vice and Satanic Ethics which are incompatible to Individual Natural Rights from God (Our Constitution).
It is complete stupidity and insanity and Marxism of radical egalitarianism (French Revolution ethics) which have forced Christian Ethics and Christians to be 2nd Class citizens just the same ethics of the muslim religion where sodomizing others is their M.O. Our “Justice System” is now a Vice System. (unconstitutional)
Sexual “Liberation” is the easiest way to collapse a culture. Without Virtue (moral code), there can be no Freedom (Socrates).
The “education” system has been rotting the minds of children and positing evil desires and hate-—and with Jimmy Carter they got total control of ALL our children using our TAXES. Even the Catholic schools were infiltrated by the Marxists homosexuals (Fr. Oko’s Report) to even take out the Classical Education in those schools, and to sexualize the children in Latency, so that children remain puerile and immature when adults-—just like the narcissistic, selfish people who think it is great to set up a system based on Vice which denies the Natural Right of babies to have a biological parent-—it is unnatural, demonic and a muslim ethic system antithetical to the US Constitution and Right Reason.
All the Foundations—like Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller, have laundered billions of dollars to control curricula, control the newspapers that control ALL perceptions of the masses (you) and posit Lies and Misinformation 24/7 and distract from the Truth. (Diana West—America Betrayed).
If the tax exemptions for churches are ended then there’s no reason why churches can’t be directly involved in politics again.
I say that it is a small price to pay to get Christ back into the platform of a political party!
“The thing is that laws and the courts have a role (and a legitimate one) in the dissolution of marriage.”
That’s not really dissolution of marriage. It’s a dissolution of joint property ownership and custody of children (if applicable).
That can be done regardless of being married or not. Couples are able to have joint accounts, joint ownership, and joint custody without having to commit to holy matrimony.
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