Church Tax Exemption?
Why is it that the church is allowed to be tax exempt? Everyone else must pay their taxes, but not the church.
I know it is a separation of Church and State. The law should be repealed and the Church should pay taxes on their land!
Give me your thoughts...
Tags: Church, Exemption?, State, Tax, and
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jon Heim on -
my thing is...if there is a separation of church and state...then how are they getting special treatment? because they are NOT separate.
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Permalink Reply by Bok on -
the church should be considered a business(in the same category as fortune telling and the like) and therefore should be taxed.
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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on -
My only major issue with these tax exemptions in Canada is that the advancement or religion is considered charity. Churches are granted their tax exemptions as registered charitable organizations. This status can, and has been revoked from churches abusing that status. I don't know how vigilantly this is enforced though.
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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on
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Perhaps. Again, I don't think that the advancement of religion should be considered charity; however, advancement of education could also be considered charity, so you could create a similar organization that was completely atheistic* and it should (I think) be equally eligible for the same tax benefits.
*I didn't want to say 'atheist church', but I suppose that would be the general idea.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Sizer-Watt on -
i agree that tax exemptions for churches are not in the spirit of a secular state.
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Permalink Reply by Taylor on -
It's most likely because if the government chargers "God" with taxes then their going to hell. Stupid, I know.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Lafont on -
You know if we tax just the land the church is on, I just think we might get rid of the national deficit in the United States... lol
Am I right??
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Permalink Reply by Atheist Exile on -
If the church is going to be tax exempt, then it should be as a non-profit charitable organization. They should meet ALL the legal requirements that non-profit charitable organizations do.
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Permalink Reply by Ken Sorce on
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My own perception on this is that government wants churches to stay in business. Many would likely not be able to survive if they were subject to paying taxes since their monetary positions are often borderline. And as they say; " religion is regarded by common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful ". You know what happens when a drug addict is taken off of their drug? Imagine many christians without their drug ( house of worship ). Yes you can say well if only a few churches were to close their doors there would be other ones they could attend. But you know how " clickey " congregations are. Once you find a church that you feel at home with, just going to another one out of nessesity doesn't always fit most churchgoers.
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Permalink Reply by Loop Johnny on -
Churches have a lot of followers. It all comes from this. Voting power.
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Permalink Reply by Jon Heim on
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the reason is obvious. Christianity has become so popular that people are judged if they are not a christian. it's gotten to the point were someone will not even vote for a leader if they are not of the same faith as them. It's ignorance like thinking that America is a christian nation, and that they have to reclaim it in the name of their god. It's only getting worse it seems, especially when you look at extremists like the tea party.
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Permalink Reply by Cecilia on
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Well...in my area, where undeveloped land is at a premium, most of the churches would be unable to afford to pay the property taxes on their land. So, what would happen is that they'd sell off chunks to developers who would build lots of ticky-tacky McMansions. So, in principle I agree that churches should pay taxes but for selfish reasons (I enjoy the extra green spaces).....I don't mind that they don't
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