This article was linked on my facebook feed. Here is one of my TBM relative's comment about it:
"To me this is another reason to have faith in and follow the prophet. The church has been criticized for venturing out into the business world and establishing their own for profit companys. If things do progress this way and the church does lose it tax exemption the LDS church will not be destroyed because they will be able to sustain themselves. Just as we as members are told to be self sufficient the church itself is."
Isn't it wonderful that church has so many for profit ventures! This is why we RfMers need to repent and start following the prophet (profit?) again!
I support the abolishment of religious tax exemptions, but I didn't realize those exemptions have only been around for a century or so. Of course, the end of tax exemptions means churches will probably be allowed into politics as much as any other corporation, but that'll underscore the fact that religions are just corporatocratic powermongers like the other big players.
Come to think of it, I want a piece of the action too. What's it cost to form a corporation sole?
windowlicker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I support the abolishment of religious tax > exemptions, but I didn't realize those exemptions > have only been around for a century or so.
The 16th amendment was passed in 1909 and ratified in 1913.
Shouldn't this should've happened decades ago? Taking away the churches/ cults tax free status ??? After all if they want to play politics, then they can pay to play...
They want both. So do most churches. That's one reason for the screeches of "religious freedom".
Ever play Sim City 2000? If you keep typing four letter words, you'll get struck by a plague of churches that ignore zoning regulations and generate no income.
YES YES YES! This is the next big thing that needs to happen. Church tax exemptions hurt the middle class and need to be abolished. LDS Inc will fight this harder than SSM.
If all those hundreds of mormon chapels in Utah paid property taxes--which funds the Utah school system--the tax burden would not have to be shifted upwards for individual home/property owners.(some who are already paying 10% tithing).
I kind of favor taxing churches, but not based on their theology.
Either tax them all or tax none. When it comes to taxing some but not others based on some litmus test of beliefs, I will oppose that as strongly as I can.
I would be happy with more financial transparency like is required in the UK and Canada. Even just showing how the money is spend would be better than what we have now.
Don't these churches use the roads, police, ambulances etc as well!?? And they use them tax free!! If so tax them, after all what's good for the goose is good for the gander!
The members of the church pay taxes and the members of the church use those public services you list.
Churches should pay taxes because taxing on non-religious groups points clearly towards the government support of organized religion in violation of the First Amendment.
whywait Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That is a bogus argument. > > The members of the church pay taxes and the > members of the church use those public services > you list.
Well, it isn't the strongest argument, but the cult's property value rises with improvements to infrastructure, such as roads, train stations, storm sewers, etc. In theory, the cost of an improvement to infrastructure is divided up proportionately among property owners, with the increased tax burden falling most heavily upon the properties with the highest increase in value. If a chapel's value increases by $250,000 because it's now a one minute walk from a new subway station, it isn't simply the members who pay for that increased value. It's everyone in the jurisdiction, cultist or not, who pays property tax, and the beneficiary is the CoJCoLDS, whose net worth has just increased by another $250,000 forcibly taken from Mormon and nonmormon taxpayers alike under threat of imprisonment or forfeiture of property (imprisonment for failure to pay taxes is extremely rare, but it does happen. Actually, I'm not sure if it happens for property taxes, but seizure of land is a real thing).
> Churches should pay taxes because taxing on > non-religious groups points clearly towards the > government support of organized religion in > violation of the First Amendment.
Yes, I like this argument better. Still, the other one isn't entirely invalid, especially where active members are a tiny percent of the population.