Should churches be tax exempt? Poll

[warlockjd]

[warlockjd]

Mark me down for 'They operate (and lobby) as a business and should be taxed as such.'

[slamdunkpro]

I break it down this way:

The actual church proper (main building, cleric’s quarters, graveyard and such) – Yes, tax exempt
Money donated for the support of clergy, etc – Yes, Tax exempt

Everything else they file just like any not for profit corporation. (not non-profit there is a difference)

[SammyKid11]

I believe poker is a god. Playing poker is my means of worshipping this god I believe in. Party Poker is my church, and I would like all my winnings there to be tax-exempt.

[Broken Glass Can]

[ QUOTE ]
Mark me down for 'They operate (and lobby) as a business and should be taxed as such.'

[/ QUOTE ]

The same could be said of all non-profits. We should not discriminate against churches. If you want to tax Arts, social service, unions, and all other non-profits, then ok. But churches are legitimate non-profits and selective taxation of non-profits is politically motivated.

[SammyKid11]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Mark me down for 'They operate (and lobby) as a business and should be taxed as such.'

[/ QUOTE ]

The same could be said of all non-profits. We should not discriminate against churches. If you want to tax Arts, social service, unions, and all other non-profits, then ok. But churches are legitimate non-profits and selective taxation of non-profits is politically motivated.

[/ QUOTE ]

To treat churches like those other non-profits is to assume that they are providing a valuable service to the community, which I do not automatically assume of every church (because I used to be a churchgoer, and there are some really stingy, greedy, horrible churches out there). I think, as I do with many things, that a case-by-case determination ought to be made. Prove that you're providing a valuable community service that goes beyond having a building where you read the Bible. Churches that provide after-school care, shelter for the poor, community basketball for teens, drug counseling services, charity for third-world AIDS victims, etc...realistically those should be given non-profit tax-exempt status. Other churches, that take money from their members and build lavish buildings and buy planes, etc. (like Benny Hinn and some of the other shady mega-organizations) and provide little or no value percentage-wise to their communities...should be treated like what they, in fact are...businesses...and thus should be taxed.

[FishHooks]

The administration has looked into the NAACP, because of their support for Kerry at a rally where they passed out Karry brochures. I dont know what the final result in this was, I just remember hearing about this

[lehighguy]

Do some non-profits get run badly?

Do all non-profits provide a valuable service to the community?

Do you want the government determining if the NAACP is valuable to the community or not? How about unions? How can you possibly measure "valuable to the community"?

[slamdunkpro]

Mark this day – A split in the vast right wing conspiracy!

That warning posted – I disagree

[ QUOTE ]
The same could be said of all non-profits. We should not discriminate against churches. If you want to tax Arts, social service, unions, and all other non-profits, then ok. But churches are legitimate non-profits and selective taxation of non-profits is politically motivated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don’t believe the objective here is to discriminate against churches. All non-profits and not-for-profits have to file tax returns. Certain activities and acquisitions are both taxable and/or prohibited. Lobbying is one of them. Non-profits are supposed to be non-partisan(this is why the NAACP is in hot water over the Kerry business). That’s why groups like the NAACP, the NRA. AARP, and other non or not for profits have a separate arm for lobbying which is not a non profit - they pay taxes. The NRA ‘s is the ILA; I don’t know what the NAACP’s is.

Churches acquire vast amounts of art treasures, land, and money, yet are non-accountable in what they spend it on. This has led to abuse. Opening the books would be very revealing. I’d just like them to follow the rules for all the other non-profits.