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I think there is a general dislike and disconnect from the Churchs in general. People are being brought up to act like its not needed in their life for moral guidance, faith or whatever excuse they can think of.
If we get rid of the 501C for the Church, I think we can comfortably say, "be careful what you wish for"
OK, I have actually read the article in the OP. I don't know how this dreck got past the WaPo fact checkers.
Point 1 (All italics are from the article): "If they spend less than they take in, they don't pay corporate income taxes." As has been explained by several people here, that is not allowable under the law, and in point of fact, most churches don't spend less than they take in anyway.
Point 2: "They ([p]riests, ministers, rabbis and the like) also are the only group allowed to opt out of Social Security taxes (and benefits)."
In point of fact, few clergypeople qualify to opt out of SS. https://www.guidestoneretirement.org...CD877964F13DAA "Ministers for tax purposes must pay SECA taxes on their ministerial earnings unless they have properly followed IRS rules to opt out of Social Security, something few ministers qualify to do. If ministers have opted out of Social Security for their ministerial income, they must pay Social Security taxes on any income earned from secular employment."
IMO, whenever you see words like "the only group", you should be wary. There are in fact several groups that are exempt from SS taxes: https://finance.zacks.com/groups-not...stem-8212.html
Point 3: "Priests, ministers, rabbis and the like get "parsonage exemptions" that let them deduct mortgage payments, rent and other living expenses when they're doing their income taxes."
In point of fact, (p)reists, ministers, rabbis and the like generally either get a parsonage owned by the church to live in, or they get a housing allowance. See: https://www.guidestoneretirement.org...usingAllowance "If a housing allowance is properly designated in advance, a minister can exclude the lowest of the following three amounts from income for federal tax purposes:
The total housing allowance designated by their church (or GuideStone for retirees)
Actual housing expenses (including mortgage payments, utilities, insurance, improvements, furnishings, etc.)
The fair market rental value of the home (furnished, plus utilities)"
"Ministers for Tax Purposes are:
Exempt from federal income tax withholding
Required to pay the full amount of Social Security tax
Allowed to exclude housing allowance from federal income tax, but not from Social Security tax"
He also claims that churches pay no sales tax, which we have seen is not true in all cases.
The nitwit author of this article estimates the income tax subsidy (which doesn't exist) alone at 35.3 Billion.
Too true. Churches, just like the Girl Scouts and other non-profits, do not pay sales tax, but that isn't federal either. As a member of the so-called "Christian left", I would have no problem with churches being assessed a payment of some sort in lieu of taxes for police and fire protection.
It's usually a matter of state law that makes them exempt from local taxes, due to the fact that most of them also run charities or other socially beneficial programs. Plus, no one wants to pay for a major Supreme Court battle they will lose just to pacify some radical atheists and assorted sexual deviants.
I don't see any big revenue sources in them, given most of them are actually pretty small, and of course there are only a few 'mega-churches', most of those having correspondingly bigger charity and education operations. I don't even feel like taxing mnay of the Catholic operations like the Franciscans' soup kitchens.
You may wish that to be so, but the reality shows otherwise. The bible belt has a higher level of drug use, unwed pregnancies, more teen age pregnancies, higher crime levels, more racism, more adultery and the highest use of porn sites in the USA. Which one of those do you see as moral?
That's because of all the Yankees that have moved to the South and out West when the midwestern factories started closing down. They usually work very hard to turn their new homeland into the same sad degenerate 'culture they left. Red River wetbacks here in Texas have changed the state pretty dramatically, which is why I always laugh at the ignorant people who babble about 'dose stupid uneducated Texans', since they're mostly talking about their beloved criminl illegal aliens and their own relatives form northern states. lol
That's because of all the Yankees that have moved to the South and out West when the midwestern factories started closing down. They usually work very hard to turn their new homeland into the same sad degenerate 'culture they left. Red River wetbacks here in Texas have changed the state pretty dramatically, which is why I always laugh at the ignorant people who babble about 'dose stupid uneducated Texans', since they're mostly talking about their beloved criminl illegal aliens and their own relatives form northern states. lol
Sorry, you are just wrong. The more red the area, the more the litany of moral transgressions I listed are true.
Taxing churches will never happen. Why? One Word: SCIENTOLOGY
Look up the lawsuits that they filed against the IRS. Buried them until they were finally granted status, something like 2,000+ lawsuits.
The IRS cannot outplay the Scientologists.
Yeah, that was then. Good luck with the dwindling numbers they have in pulling it off now. Evidence suggests that there are as few as 10,000 members worldwide, with much fewer who are US citizens.
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