Should Churches Remain Tax-Exempt?

[vaginahouse]

US churches* received an official federal income tax exemption in 1894, and they have been unofficially tax-exempt since the country's founding. All 50 US states and the District of Columbia exempt churches from paying property tax. Donations to churches are tax-deductible. The debate continues over whether or not these tax benefits should be retained.

Proponents argue that a tax exemption keeps the government out of church finances and thus upholds the separation of church and state. They say that churches deserve a tax break because they provide crucial social services, and that 200 years of church tax exemptions have not turned America into a theocracy.

Opponents argue that giving churches special tax exemptions violates the separation of church and state, and that tax exemptions are a privilege, not a constitutional right. They say that in tough economic times the government cannot afford what amounts to a subsidy worth billions of dollars every year.

[Silver]

I'll keep my response simple.

No.

[LostLocke]

No, Matt, they should not.......

[FatAndFaithless]

I'll keep my response similarly simple.

Ditto.

[Elskidor]

No...

[Jenny A]

If keeping the government out of church finances were the only reason for the exemption then churches wouldn't have property tax, and sales tax exemptions. Nor do I see that they actually do all that much charity work unless you pretend missionary work is charity, and what they do do either comes with strings, or is really mostly for their own members. So no, I don't think churches should have tax exemptions as churches, but if they can fit into some of the other tax exempt statuses like educational institutions, or charitable ones, they should be able to use those.

[Minimalist]

Not only should they be taxed they should be hit with a Special Human Ignorance Tax.

[Chad32]

If they're not going to keep themselves separate from the state, I don't see why they should be tax exempt. The whole point of tax exemption is the separation of church and state, which religious people trmple over in an attempt to get into public schools and offices, so why should they be tax exempt?

[Strider]

No. Tax 'em.

EDIT: I thought I'd add that in Mississippi, where I have the misfortune to live, churches are also exempt from sales tax on all utilities (electricity, water, natural gas, etc.). This costs the state millions in sales tax revenue. It's okay for them not to pay sales tax, but it is acceptable for people to pay sales tax on fucking groceries. A tax on food is damn near the most regressive one I can imagine.

[vorlon13]

Tax 'em.

As for regressive taxes, we need a few (at least one), everybody (!) needs a financial stake in the system as motivation to go vote.