If a secular charity doesn't pay its property tax they lose the property. Why should churches get special treatment?
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
- Thomas Jefferson
Should Churches Remain Tax-Exempt?
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If a secular charity doesn't pay its property tax they lose the property. Why should churches get special treatment?
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson (December 9, 2014 at 8:30 pm)FatAndFaithless Wrote: If a secular charity doesn't pay its property tax they lose the property. Why should churches get special treatment? Actually most secular charities do get property tax exemption. But they do have to open up their books and prove they really are a charity.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
Fair enough, make the churches do that.
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion. -- Superintendent Chalmers Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things. -- Ned Flanders Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral. -- The Rev Lovejoy (December 9, 2014 at 8:21 pm)Jenny A Wrote:(December 9, 2014 at 7:44 pm)Heywood Wrote: What do you do if the Church doesn't pay its property tax? Seize the property and sell it off? That sounds a lot like passing a law that effectively makes it difficult for a group of people to worship as they please. The difference is engaging in activities of being an "Elk" is not constitutionally protected to be free from laws prohibiting the exercise thereof. It it is true that laws can be made which limit the exercise of religion when it is deemed those laws are necessary. Nobody has ever shown that unless we start taxing churches the state will be unable to fulfill its obligations. Life is full of trade offs. If we are going to have freedom of religion in this country to the maximum extent possible....which seems to be the intent of the First Amendment.....it necessitates tax exemption of churches. Personally I do not have a problem with eliminating tax deductions to charitable organization including church's. I do have problem taxing church property used for worship and church receipts from the congregation. (December 9, 2014 at 8:50 pm)Heywood Wrote:(December 9, 2014 at 8:21 pm)Jenny A Wrote: Yes. We'd do it to the Elk's club too. What would be the difference? Frankly, property taxes cover use of city roads etc. Like businesses and club (which is what they are), churches make considerable demands on the infrastructure surrounding them. That comes out of my tax dollars thank you very much. The First Amendment says: Quote:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof By granting a tax exemption for property not granted to others, I'd say Congress is establishing religion. Taxing property and income in the same way it taxes everyone else and every other organization is not prohibiting.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
RE: Should Churches Remain Tax-Exempt?
December 9, 2014 at 8:59 pm
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2014 at 9:00 pm by Tartarus Sauce.)
If they want to be tax exempt, they should have to jump through the same hoops as any other non-profit.
If they can't establish that they are indeed a non-profit, too fucking bad.
freedomfromfallacy » I'm weighing my tears to see if the happy ones weigh the same as the sad ones.
There is no constitutional right to a tax exemption.
(December 9, 2014 at 8:58 pm)Jenny A Wrote:Quote:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof You can say that Congress is establishing religion but this argument is impotent because you already assume those religions would exist or continue to exist regardless of whether or not the state taxes them. You can't have it both ways. (December 9, 2014 at 9:02 pm)Heywood Wrote: You can say that Congress is establishing religion but this argument is impotent because you already assume those religions would exist or continue to exist regardless of whether or not the state taxes them. Oh come now. All sorts of taxed organizations exist regardless of taxes. In some Islamic countries churches and Christians are taxed more for being Christian (yes that would and should be unconstitutional here) but they continue to exist. Christians in many counties including this one taxed people for not going to church or for being Jewish. Property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes levied at the same rate everyone else pays are nothing like a prohibition. In fact they would be religious neutral, which is what they should be. As is there is a religious tax privilege.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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