Religion costs the US 71+ Billion each year!

[Greg_IA]

Originally Posted by TigerLily24

Are people really not aware of how this works?
Wow. Just wow.

So will my taxes go down if the government removes the tax exempt status from churches?

[swagger]

Originally Posted by Nomad58

Religion costs the US 71+ Billion each year!

How much do you make in a year? Give it to me. What? You don't have to? You're costing me <your annual salary> each year!

That whole "costing" nonsense is just that. When you get to keep what you've earned instead of giving it to an already bloated government, you're not "costing" that government anything.

As for the taxing of churches, if you did that, then there would be no freedom of religion. It will never happen, as it is in direct violation of the 1st Amendment.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by TigerLily24

Are people really not aware of how this works?
Wow. Just wow.

[MOD CUT]

Okay. let's try this again:

1. Even for-profit corporations are taxed on their PROFITS. Got that? PROFITS.

2. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Profit is what an organization clears after all expenses are paid, from production costs to rent to salaries to copier paper.

3. By definition, a non-profit, does NOT make a profit. Let's repeat. A non-profit does not make a profit.

4. Churches, along with all kinds of other organizations such as charities, musical organizations, and all kinds of other organizations that come together for the public good, are organized to be non-profit corporations. This means that, by law, they cannot make a profit.

5. When any non-profit corporation does actually take in more revenue than it spends, it typically goes into a rainy-day fund such as a trust or a foundation. For example, a church might have a foundation in the event of major building repairs. These years are really, really rare.

6. 99.9% of all churches are shoestring concerns, with its clergy making low salaries that would largely be unacceptable for a comparable position in the business world.

7. In almost all churches, aside from salaries (Parsimonious salaries, by the way), the light bill and the building maintenance, a large proportion of budget is slated towards charitable pursuits, whether directly funding worthwhile charities or providing the means for its members to support said charities.

8. In almost 100% of churches, there is virtually no money left over. Which means there is no profit (There's that word again). My rector driving the ten-year-old Toyota would be awfully surprised to hear that the church he leads is raking in the big bucks.

9. People who think churches make big bucks, aside from a few well-publicized megachurches, are raving, gibbering, paranoids who almost certainly have never had to sweat out the budget reconciliations in monthly parish meetings.

10. The large majority of churches wouldn't touch politics with a ten-foot pole. As a matter of fact, even hinting at political endorsement is the fastest way possible to be stripped of your non-profit status.

Since it's pretty evident that none of these people have the slightest inkling of how a church is run, I would invite you to join one, if only to stroll in and look over the books. Not that you'd have the slightest understanding of what you were looking at, given your woeful grasp of finance.

[Greg_IA]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Nomad knows next to nothing about taxes, does he?

[MOD CUT]

Okay. let's try this again:

1. Even for-profit corporations are taxed on their PROFITS. Got that? PROFITS.

2. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Profit is what an organization clears after all expenses are paid, from production costs to rent to salaries to copier paper.

3. By definition, a non-profit, does NOT make a profit. Let's repeat. A non-profit does not make a profit.

4. Churches, along with all kinds of other organizations such as charities, musical organizations, and all kinds of other organizations that come together for the public good, are non-profit corporations. This means that, by law, they cannot make a profit.

5. When any non-profit corporation does actually take in more revenue than it spends, it typically goes into a rainy-day fund such as a trust or a foundation. For example, a church might have a foundation in the event of major building repairs.

6. 99.9% of all churches are shoestring concerns, with its clergy making low salaries that would largely be unacceptable in the business world.

7. In almost all churches, aside from salaries (Parsimonious salaries, by the way), the light bill and the building maintenance, a large proportion of budget is slated towards charitable pursuits, whether directly funding worthwhile charities or providing the means for its members to support said charities.

8. In almost 100% of churches, there is virtually no money left over. Which means there is no profit (There's that word again). My rector driving the ten-year-old Toyota would be awfully surprised to hear that the church he leads is raking in the big bucks.

9. People who think churches make big bucks, aside from a few well-publicized megachurches, are raving, gibbering, paranoids who have likely never had to sweat out the budget in monthly parish meetings.

10. The large majority of churches wouldn't touch politics with a ten-foot pole. As a matter of fact, even hinting at political endorsement is the fastest way possible to be stripped of your non-profit status.

Since it's pretty evident that none of these people have the slightest inkling of how a church is run, I would invite you to join one, if only to stroll in and look over the books. Not that you'd have the slightest understanding of what you were looking at, given your woeful grasp of finance.

They just hate religion.

[CharlottePirate05]

Originally Posted by Savoir Faire

In my town there are quite a few "Churches" that are basically money making schemes that pay no taxes and have gotten huge discounts on utilities.

They have this nice little scam, hold service once or twice a week and pay no taxes.

Same thing in my town with Unions