Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I say tax churches. Since they essentially make no profit, they will pay very little
I'm all for churches having the ability to pass on voting advise to their congregations and to arrange buses to drive around and take people to the polls to vote.
Let them off their political leash and help them get out the vote!
And that's pretty much the point of this whole exercise. One of these "Tax religion!" threads pops up every month or so.
People like to point as examples the televangelists driving BMWs with private jets as good reasons why churches should be taxed, and yeah, they are ugly, but that's not it. Most of the churches in this nation barely cobble together enough money to pay the utilities and upkeep on their property. To tax them, specifically, to make them pay property tax on their buildings, literally means to close them down. That's the real driver behind this idea, to close the churches down. You're not going to get property tax money from the churches because they don't have the money to pay those kind of taxes. What the "tax the churches!" warriors really mean is "get rid of the churches and let's get some business on that property who can pay."
Unfortunately, they don't get that these little, living-on-a-shoestring churches are the places where the recovery programs can meet, and where the people who provide the local assistance to the poor form the community that does those things.
Now, maybe that's the way it will be, and if it is, so be it. People do get attached to their church "homes", but if greed prevails and the public wants the buildings to be privately owned and converted to tax ratable usage, the churches will survive, because the church is the people, not the building. It just may force a change in the way the churches continue to do what they do and where they do it.
I don't think there are many people who want to "get rid of the churches." I do think churches should be taxed, but at a small income rate or simply tax the property. Some small churches aren't doing any good and should be disbanded and merge with other churches. I don't have a strong opinion on the matter, but I don't believe churches and religious organizations should be completely exempt from taxes. Say a 5% tax on operating income, basically donations (income) minus expenses. If a church uses its money on helping the community, utilities, or other expenses, they wouldn't pay taxes on that. Only on what is saved in surplus.
Not digressing. Merely pointing out the dangers of treating a religion as a non profit. We have seen throughout American history the bias. The best solution is absolute separation of state and church.
Is there a Pope or a Priest or a Rabbi or a Preacher or a Imam in the Whitehouse as POTUS? No ...
Unless that changes ... we do have absolute separation of church and state ...
Why not? I am pretty sure just by taxing Catholic church alone would wipe out our complete national debt.
Hey, you know what, in principle, they should just give the people their money. They are for the good of the people, right? Well, we have a huge debt and lots American don't have either a home, a job or health care.
Isn't this the time for the mega churches to do something?
Instead of being lazy, why don't you just look it up?
these churches are so pompous that they refuse to pay ANY taxes at all to maintain streets, police & fire departments, etc in the cities where they exist. About a year ago, we had a christian church who agreed to pay city taxes because they felt that it was the price that they needed to pay to maintain streets around their property and to support firemen/policemen. We need a LOT more churches that believe in that kind of fairness.
"these churches are so pompous that they refuse to pay ANY taxes"
What an ignorant statement.
Any reasonable person would be embarrassed to post it!
I don't think there are many people who want to "get rid of the churches." I do think churches should be taxed, but at a small income rate or simply tax the property. Some small churches aren't doing any good and should be disbanded and merge with other churches. I don't have a strong opinion on the matter, but I don't believe churches and religious organizations should be completely exempt from taxes. Say a 5% tax on operating income, basically donations (income) minus expenses. If a church uses its money on helping the community, utilities, or other expenses, they wouldn't pay taxes on that. Only on what is saved in surplus.
There are definitely some people at that extreme end who would like all vestiges of religion to disappear, and they are vocal about it on R&S.
I can understand the consternation over a church not paying any taxes yet using public services, such as police and fire. Some large churches have cops directing traffic on Sundays. That's a fairness issue, and I think it should be addressed.
But property tax--here in NJ, where the average tax on a one-family house on a half acre is around $12-15K, imposing property tax on a small church such as mine that sits on maybe two acres of land means "close your doors". We can't afford that. The church budget for the entire year is $80K. That includes the salary of a part-time priest, an organist, a part-time admin person, utilities, building upkeep, insurance, and the costs (about $3,000 a year) of providing light/heat/toilet paper for the five recovery groups that use our space for meetings as well as support of the soup kitchen/food pantries we help in the area.
I'm not saying it's wrong to make them pay property tax, I am saying that it is an effective way to close a church and get a business in that same place that will provide revenue to the town. You can't tell me that's not part of the plan. Money is the reason for most decisions for a lot of people, especially government types.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
