Churches taunt the IRS by violating 501-c laws on political activism

[Ziploc Surprise]

"ETA: Would a Unitarian Universalist church be considered secular or religious? If you're not familiar with UU, their churches range from pseudo-religious to almost atheistic; I attended a UU church here, but was later informed that it is the most atheistic UU church in the city. What about semi-spiritual organizations like meditation centers? Or for that matter, what about things like humanist associations whose beliefs, politics and advocacy walks a thin line between secularism and a quasi-religious message? This is another demarcation problem, and I don't mean to invoke the fallacy of the beard, but it is a thorny practical issue. [and if you read up on the IRS website about this section of the tax code, you can get a greater appreciation for how difficult these issues can be, but also how the IRS deals with them in practical terms])
"

That's pretty much my point. I think the best the government can hope for is to cut down on obvious abuse. Can't it be possible to cut down on the tax exemptions for expensive houses for pastors? Something like if the leader of a religious group has a parsonage that is above the mean price of houses in the area around the religious meeting building then the amount above that mean is taxable? Of course you could just get rid of all tax exemptions for parsonages and expect the church to give the pastor a wage where he can afford his own (taxable) house. That would be better. After all they cut a crap load of deductions for my home business why cant they cut the parsonage bullshit?

Also (and I don't know if they don't already do this) if the charity gets a bad rating by say the system that the BBB uses or the Charity Commission (I think that's what it's called) then it gets tagged for a possible audit. That would encourage charities to be open and honest with their money (maybe).

I know I have over simplified the whole situation. The point is to not get them at the definition of a charity, but demand the same restrictions that other groups must have, or ones that are comparable.

[Reforged]

Ha, he thinks they won't dare bust him on it because there would be uproar. What he doesn't seem to have taken into account is the IRS genuinely doesn't give a shit, they're going to take a crap on him from such a height the other side of the world will be feeling the tremors.

If the IRS doesn't then it will be the final nail in the coffin for the separation of church and state.

Because if they ignore this then it means that the churches will be free to do whatever they like in the political arena.

And the U.S will be on the final approach to theocracy.

Zen if there was an untaxed cent in my skull they'd happily crack it open and claw through the gooey contents to get to it.
Seriously no need to worry, the IRS won't ignore it.
They get a sexual thrill out of lawsuits, they're probably jizzing uncontrollably at the prospect of laying one on a church.

[Angrboda]

Yeah. I've got one word to say about that. "Scientology."