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WTH does a pastor need five houses as "parsonages" for? Really? The religious tax exemptions need to disappear; this type of abuse is just too prevalent, and the churches are doing nothing to correct it by themselves. As such, it is time for "We the people" to do it for them.
No exceptions. Take it all away, and if the church is to stand on its own, the parishioners that see value in it will provide. If not, too bad. The abuse has gone on long enough.
The article does not say how much of her income of her ministry she gives to the poor or the underdeveloped , and then she should pay property taxes on the properties that she own except the main church building ..........Some of these ministries are authors of books which they sell for profits and are a business .......... See some ministries may be non profit based and some may be profit based , so the government needs to get their tax exemptions in order as some of these can be businessmen and religious non profit and profit based at the same time
WTH does a pastor need five houses as "parsonages" for? Really? The religious tax exemptions need to disappear; this type of abuse is just too prevalent, and the churches are doing nothing to correct it by themselves. As such, it is time for "We the people" to do it for them.
No exceptions. Take it all away, and if the church is to stand on its own, the parishioners that see value in it will provide. If not, too bad. The abuse has gone on long enough.
Why do you care what pastors do? Separation of church and state right? Oh wait, you want it to be a one way street. Get all up in the business of churches while demanding that every single thread of religiosity be scrubbed from the public view and office. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
If churches pay taxes then churches can endorse politicians and lobby lawmakers.
07-07-2016, 07:23 AM
2K5Gx2km
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
Why do you care what pastors do? Separation of church and state right? Oh wait, you want it to be a one way street. Get all up in the business of churches while demanding that every single thread of religiosity be scrubbed from the public view and office. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
If churches are going to subject themselves to state laws (501c3) then there is no separation. And all tithes and offering need to be itemized so as to separate legit ministries (for humanitarian reasons) from salaries, preaching, evangelizing, schools, and other in house 'ministries' etc.
Quote:
If churches pay taxes then churches can endorse politicians and lobby lawmakers.
Fine with me, they do it anyway when not behind the pulpit or in some 'opinionated' way.
Why do you care what pastors do? Separation of church and state right? Oh wait, you want it to be a one way street. Get all up in the business of churches while demanding that every single thread of religiosity be scrubbed from the public view and office. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
If churches pay taxes then churches can endorse politicians and lobby lawmakers.
Just to be clear, are you defending the actions of the Meyers as legitimate religious, church-related activities, worthy of tax exemption?
The umbrella of the church organization is paying for 5 homes, one valued at $2 million, the beachfront at $500K, and the church is paying the utilities in a 10,000 Square foot home.
What is the religious purpose these things provide?
You see, none of this conversation disputes the tax exemption of legitimate charitable and religious based organizations. The question here is about 5 luxurious homes and the expenses to operate them for the benefit of the leaders of the organization, not for the legitimate charitable or religious activities of the organization. Do you really not see the difference?
Why do you care what pastors do? Separation of church and state right? Oh wait, you want it to be a one way street. Get all up in the business of churches while demanding that every single thread of religiosity be scrubbed from the public view and office. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
It isn't separate when the church's tax-exempt status is used to enrich an individual personally.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
If churches pay taxes then churches can endorse politicians and lobby lawmakers.
Certainly.
So, do you support what this particular pastor has done? Do you feel it is reasonable for her to own 5 homes, a private jet, be worth 25 million, etc. on the backs of taxpayers? Is this a reasonable use of tax-exempt charitable donations? Was she in abject poverty when she only owned 4 homes?
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,926,708 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
Why do you care what pastors do? Separation of church and state right? Oh wait, you want it to be a one way street. Get all up in the business of churches while demanding that every single thread of religiosity be scrubbed from the public view and office. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
If churches pay taxes then churches can endorse politicians and lobby lawmakers.
Because churches and their pastors can and do abuse the tax exemption provisions. They use resources that ALL taxpayers have to pay for, christians, muslims, zorastrians, and atheist.
Why should an atheist have to pay to support a religious organization in any way, shape or form?
Because churches and their pastors can and do abuse the tax exemption provisions. They use resources that ALL taxpayers have to pay for, christians, muslims, zorastrians, and atheist.
Why should an atheist have to pay to support a religious organization in any way, shape or form?
Exactly how are they abusing the system? Joyce Meyer says that over 80% of their revenue goes directly to charitable functions and events. She has become a very popular speaker because a lot of people gravitate towards the truth of her message. She doesn't charge admission for her speaking engagements either so I don't see how she is cheating the government here. It's not her fault that people made her very popular and bought millions of copies of her books.
Why should a Christian have to pay for supporting anti-Christian policies and laws like planned parenthood? It's not your money. It's the government's money. That's why.
Exactly how are they abusing the system? Joyce Meyer says that over 80% of their revenue goes directly to charitable functions and events. She has become a very popular speaker because a lot of people gravitate towards the truth of her message. She doesn't charge admission for her speaking engagements either so I don't see how she is cheating the government here. It's not her fault that people made her very popular and bought millions of copies of her books.
Why should a Christian have to pay for supporting anti-Christian policies and laws like planned parenthood? It's not your money. It's the government's money. That's why.
If she is personally making money, then she ought to be personally paying taxes, just like everyone else.
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