Should Churches Remain Tax-Exempt?

[Jenny A]

One point that hasn't been addressed is the fact that I subsidize your church through taxation. If churches were required to pay taxes, my tax burden would be lessened. The government must collect x amount of dollars to provide essential services. By exempting churches, those dollars must be made up by increasing the tax burden on everybody else. Ergo, I am subsidizing your church!

Individual members of the church pay taxes too. If they own property they pay property tax. If they buy stuff they pay sales tax. You want them to pay taxes again when they pool their resources to exercise their right to freedom or religion. You want Church going folk to subsidize your tax burden.

You are missing three important points:

1) The individual church members get to deduct their contributions to their church from their taxable income, thus they are not paying taxes on those pooled resources.

2) Other kinds of groups who pull their resources to buy things such as social clubs, babysitting cooperatives, and gardening clubs do have to pay taxes on those pooled resources.

3) Churches are government resource users. They expect police and fire protection and they use neighborhood streets heavily. For zoning purposes they very heavy users like schools and recreation centers (which is pretty much what they are).

So yes they should be taxed like everyone else unless they otherwise meet the definition of a charitable institution. Providing church services and proselytizing should not be a subsidized activity. Subsidizing is establishment. Taxing at the same rate everyone else is taxed is not prohibiting.