Should religious institutions be taxed?

[Al Gorefiend]

Well here in Belgium, part of our tax money actually goes to the Catholic Church, even if you're not a catholic or anything. Priests etc. get payed by the government. So that should change yeah. I don't want a part of my money spend on a institution I don't give a shit about.

Welcome to life, no matter where you live your money goes towards things you don't give a shit about. Here in America my taxes pay for the food stamps of trashy hos and hungry brats.

[yetgdhfgh]

Religious organizations should be taxed imo.

Here in the states they pay no taxes and the deal is they aint suppose to get involved in how government works but lets face it we all know they do it anyway.

To me religious organizations are offering a service and like any other business offering a service it should be taxed for the greater good for society.

[Deleted]

Tax them to death ;-)

Even in death you're not safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_..._United_States

[TheBeardedOne]

It doesn't bother me to any great extent. I think if a Church or religious institution which puts its money primarily, if not entirely toward charitable causes, has probably earned the right to be exempt. Despite being an atheist, i'm honest enough to both see and admit that most churches tend to be a force for good in the world; irrespective of their religious beliefs.

The likes of Televangelists, however? They really should be taxed to hell and back; given that they are the most brazenly shameless con artists of the modern day.

a force for good? Really. They hold onto terrible ideas from the past and have disdain for free thinking and proper education. They pass off sotries as fact with no proof. They are a cancer on society

[Afrospinach]

So they should be taxed on their profit?

Guess what their profit is?

AFAIK they are not required to disclose than info in addition to not being taxed.

[Sunseeker]

Even in death you're not safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_..._United_States

I worked for an estate planning law firm. Estate tax laws are ridiculously lax in the USA. It's absurdly easy to pass along huge fortunes to your kids without ever paying the tax man a penny.

[Deleted]

I worked for an estate planning law firm. Estate tax laws are ridiculously lax in the USA. It's absurdly easy to pass along huge fortunes to your kids without ever paying the tax man a penny.

OMG, A TAX DODGER, SOMEONE TELL THE IRS!

I've just heard the background noise about the IRS on the internet though, and how it's painted a picture of an omnipresent agency ready to bend you over to grab that sweet, sweet tax from you.

[Gmollster11]

Well here in Belgium, part of our tax money actually goes to the Catholic Church, even if you're not a catholic or anything. Priests etc. get payed by the government. So that should change yeah. I don't want a part of my money spend on a institution I don't give a shit about.

The Catholic Church is the single biggest problem with Christianity. They have let money prove their hypocrisy.
Go visit any one of the hundreds of small Baptist churches around the south in America and witness how church is supposed to be. Our pastors often have real jobs because they don't make any money at all and most of the workers are volunteers or part-time. The larger a church gets, the more it allows money to corrupt it.

As far as taxes, if they are run correctly, they don't have any excess money to be taxed on.

[Sunseeker]

OMG, A TAX DODGER, SOMEONE TELL THE IRS!

Yes, they should.

Because people not pulling their weight should be made to do so. Like living in a first world country do you? Well PAY YOUR FUCKING TAXES.

[Hellfo]

It doesn't bother me to any great extent. I think if a Church or religious institution which puts its money primarily, if not entirely toward charitable causes, has probably earned the right to be exempt. Despite being an atheist, i'm honest enough to both see and admit that most churches tend to be a force for good in the world; irrespective of their religious beliefs.

I hope you're not referring to the Catholic church. Pedophilia (not 'restrained') and greed are only two of its awful 'charicatble causes'. If I want to help some community or area, I am sure there exist other (and probably better) associations or ways to do so.

[Deleted]

better question "why shouldn't they?" there institutions cause wear and tear on infrastructure like everybody else... pay up or shut up.

[Frozenbeef]

Doubt god would be happy with you trying to tax them

[Segasik]

Tax them to death ;-)

/signed [10 chars]

[Deleted]

Welcome to life, no matter where you live your money goes towards things you don't give a shit about. Here in America my taxes pay for the food stamps of trashy hos and hungry brats.

You poor thing.
In Belgium we pay 30% income tax of wich 13%(RSZ) goes to social security.

Life's actually pretty good here, no people dying in the street, barely any robberies, not much violent crime, high quality healthcare provided by the goverment, education almost free, one of the highest minimum wages in the world (a job at macdo will actually be able to pay your bills), crazy gunmen appear about once/twice every century, a high level of wellbeing, a real seperation of church and state, an economic crisis that wasn't really a crisis at all... beer... chocolate... and climate change is changing the weather to a tropical climate (all of a sudden we have huge musquito's, I swear, those things are mutating)

Yeah, socialism, it kinda works out.

[Faesroll]

No, I just want them gone altogether.

[N-7]

Depends some parts of them (e.g. charity) should still be exempt. Things that are normally taxed should be taxed.

[Naxere]

If you remove their tax-exempt status, you also remove the restriction on them campaigning for or against a candidate for public office.

[Coraulten]

If you remove their tax-exempt status, you also remove the restriction on them campaigning for or against a candidate for public office.

So basically what they do now....

[Naxere]

So basically what they do now....

Really? How many commercials have you seen from churches endorsing candidates?

[Kalis]

If you remove their tax-exempt status, you also remove the restriction on them campaigning for or against a candidate for public office.

That's not an issue in many countries, e.g. if the Archbishop of Canterbury endorsed a candidate in Britain it would have no effect - it's such a non-issue that I'm not even sure if they aren't allowed to endorse a particular party.