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[Minimalist]

Also, church real estate is exempt from property taxes.

That has nothing to do with the federal government.


Anyway, tax exempt donations allow the donor to get a deduction for the amount donated. In order to qualify for that status you must fall under one of the categories outlined in 26 USC 501 c 3

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/501

If you want a real scandal - the number of IRS agents who have to oversee that provision was about 1,600 when I was there and that included managers and staff. The actual grunt work was done by far fewer. It is effectively unregulated.

Remember Mitt Romney's tax returns? The story came out way too late to matter but by then he had already stepped on his own dick.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-29...tions.html

In 1997, Congress cracked down on a popular tax shelter that allowed rich people to take advantage of the exempt status of charities without actually giving away much money.

Individuals who had already set up these vehicles were allowed to keep them. That included Mitt Romney, then the chief executive officer of Bain Capital, who had just established such an arrangement in June 1996.

The charitable remainder unitrust, as it is known, is one of several strategies Romney has adopted over his career to reduce his tax bill. While Romney’s tax avoidance is legal and common among high-net-worth individuals, it has become an issue in the campaign. President Barack Obama attacked him in their second debate for paying “lower tax rates than somebody who makes a lot less.”

In this instance, Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity -- the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing -- to defer taxes for more than 15 years. At the same time he is benefiting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires, according to tax returns obtained by Bloomberg this month through a Freedom of Information Act request.

So, Harry Reid was right after all. You go, Harry.