The need to make churches pay tax

[BulletProof]

That pay no taxes and get free fire and police services.

No non-profit pays taxes and many entities even get a great deal of taxpayer support, like the "public" schools. So, not taxing churches has nothing to do with the issue of fairness vs. any other non-business. Governments tends to tax wealth-creation, and not services freely provided to the public.

Like the public schools, churches provide "free" community services, regardless of community value one might think of a religious service. Churches also provide a great deal of free secular service to communities, collecting and distributing food being an obvious example.

The power to tax is the power to kill. If property taxes were generally accepted on churches, libtard municipalities would be using property taxes to drive churches to close. Besides, the benefit of general government services to churches is minuscule at best. Most property taxes goes to the public schools, not to police and fire. Even trees and abandoned property get police and fire protection, because the whole community benefits when any fire is put out (so, it doesn't spread) or any criminal caught.

Should a volunteer, non-profit fire dept be taxed?

 

[Weatherman2020]

That pay no taxes and get free fire and police services.

No non-profit pays taxes and many entities even get a great deal of taxpayer support, like the "public" schools. So, not taxing churches has nothing to do with the issue of fairness vs. any other non-business. Governments tends to tax wealth-creation, and not services freely provided to the public.

Like the public schools, churches provide "free" community services, regardless of community value one might think of a religious service. Churches also provide a great deal of free secular service to communities, collecting and distributing food being an obvious example.

The power to tax is the power to kill. If property taxes were generally accepted on churches, libtard municipalities would be using property taxes to drive churches to close. Besides, the benefit of general government services to churches is minuscule at best. Most property taxes goes to the public schools, not to police and fire. Even trees and abandoned property get police and fire protection, because the whole community benefits when any fire is put out (so, it doesn't spread) or any criminal caught.

Should a volunteer, non-profit fire dept be taxed?

Schools and police departments pay no property taxes. They must be forced to as they get free service otherwise.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

47% of America pays no Federal taxes and leftard wants them to pay as much as everyone else.

Oh my.

Exactly.
Far too few people pay taxes.
And way the f*ck too many have a negative tax rate....as in, get more back than they pay in.
I am all for ACTIVE military paying no income tax. I am also for STUDENTS whose parents make less than a certain income - pay no income tax as long as they can show a certain percentage of that income pays tuition.
But even poor people should pay SOME tax. And NO ONE should get more back then they pay in with few exceptions.

 

[BulletProof]

Far too few people pay taxes.
And way the f*ck too many have a negative tax rate....as in, get more back than they pay in.
I am all for ACTIVE military paying no income tax.

Poor families don't pay income taxes because they don't have the money to, but you don't want members of the military paying taxes because you're a faggot with a uniform fetish.

People in combat zones already don't pay income taxes on related pay.

I am also for STUDENTS whose parents make less than a certain income - pay no income tax as long as they can show a certain percentage of that income pays tuition.

That's the role of education tax credits and deductions. Why do you want to complicate it?

But even poor people should pay SOME tax. And NO ONE should get more back then they pay in with few exceptions.

The working poor, without kids, pay a larger percent in taxes than billionaires, ignorant fucktard. And, another thing, you fucktards are too stupid to understand that primary function (constitutionally legitimate or not) of government is wealth redistribution. Either get rid of taxes or continue to use taxes to redistribute. It's completely pointless and inefficient to use welfare and socialism as the sole means of wealth redistribution.

 

[JQPublic1]

They pay no property tax no sales tax an yet they benefit from the services those taxes provide

The congregation pays all those taxes on their individual income tax returns. The question at hand is whether their pooled resources should be taxed when they pay tithes and make other donations to the church treasury which they own.

The donations to a church are revenue of that church and the people giving the money get a tax write off so no they haven't payed taxes on that money.

The very fact that any religious establishment gets preferred tax status by law is a violation of the first amendment

The congregation of a church is a body of people coming together and pooling their money to construct, maintain the building/the grounds, plus keep the lights air and heat on.

They have already paid taxes on that money.
Now some congregations retain their deeds and appoint a treasurer to oversee the funds they accumulate via tithes and offerings. They also hire a pastor and pay him/her a salary. Those churches should not have to pay taxes.

On the other hand, those churches owned by pastors who control all the assets, the property, and all the accoutrements of the church should be taxed to the max, especially if the coffers are filled fromaddifional sources outside his congregation.

They pay no property tax no sales tax an yet they benefit from the services those taxes provide

The donations to a church are revenue of that church and the people giving the money get a tax write off so no they haven't payed taxes on that money.

The very fact that any religious establishment gets preferred tax status by law is a violation of the first amendment

And you do know that this preferred tax status comes with strings attached don't you?

The government can now tell any clergyman of any church that they cannot speak of any political subject or advance their religious agenda by supporting any candidate.

Why would anyone want the government to censor their clergy?

Perhaps this link will address your concerns better than my personal opinion.:

StartCHURCH Blog - The "Big Four" Taxes on California Churches | StartCHURCH Everything You Need to Start a Ministry

 

[Lewdog]

No... that's not correct. Unless someone is a family member or they have a certificate showing they are a non-profit organization, you can't just give someone $50K without them being taxed.

Wrong, you can just give anyone $50K without them being them being taxed. You are factually and completely wrong. Thank you for playing, "Celebration of Ignorance!", the favorite game of libtards and fucktards everywhere!

No... you can't. This is about to get embarrassing for you.

Gift Tax: Don’t Fear Taxes When You Give (Or Receive) - Money Under 30

You're too fucking stupid to understand, as well as unworthy, but I'll explain it to you anyway. The gift tax applies to the giver, not the person it's given to. So, right from the start, your link isn't even relevant to the organizations and the people that are given money. Because you're probably too foolish to believe me, the only honest person in your life, believe your own link, "Recipients never pay." That alone refutes the shitheads in this thread whining about churches getting special treatment for not paying taxes on offerings.

Anyway, the gift tax is not a tax on the money given. The amount of money you give to others, in your entire life, no matter how much, even a billion dollars, doesn't add a single penny to your taxes. Do you understand, fucktard? If you disagree, then tell me how it does. Use your words.

Also, fucktard, the gift tax has no relevancy, none at all, to any money given to any non-profit organization. It's not even relevant to any money you give to a random stranger on the street. If you didn't have a small brain, you would have gleaned that from the article you linked to. So, you're wrong for yet another reason.

The gift tax exists to attempt to prevent people from avoiding paying taxes on income from capital gains. If you reject the simple stuff, I sure as fuck aren't going it to explain this to you.

This is about to get embarrassing for you.

Embarrassment? I'm right in every dispute, every time. Why? Because I don't take pride in being an ignorant fucktard, like most people do.

Oh, ok... but taxes is being paid on it. You make it seem like it's a simple process you can walk up to someone and give them $50K and it's no big deal. That's not true. Taxes have to be paid on any gift of $14K or more. So regardless of paying taxes on the money already when you earned it, any gift of $14K or more you have to pay another tax... that is if you follow the law.

 

[ding]

You are not supporting anything. It's not like you always use police, or fire services. They are background services available to all, even those who don't pay taxes, such as visitors.

Of course we are.

And visitors still pay sales taxes when they visit don't they?

These so called background services need to be paid for by anyone who may use them. There is no reason to give any establishment a pass on any taxes

Priests pay sales taxes on items not having to do with religious services or charitable work.

So what?

The church pays no sales taxes on anything it buys. The church pays no property taxes on any of it's land or buildings

And unlike your miserable self, I don't have an issue with it.

Well then again you believe in a magic sky fairy

No. That's how you interpret what I believe.

You kinda have an ax to grind with religion.

 

[ding]

Nothing amoral about not wanting preferential treatment of churches and so called nonprofits at the expense of everyone, quite the opposite really/

The irony is that the tax exemption is a direct violation of the First Amendment. Government giving approved religions special status is exactly why they wrote the amendment.

First of all the establishment clause was written to prevent the Federal government with interfering with the established state religions of which half of the states had at the time the constitution was ratified.

Secondly, if all religions are treated the same, there is no special treatment.

And lastly, taxing religious organizations would be in violation of the establishment clause.

No it would not.

Passing a law that gives religions preferential treatment violates the first amendment because it is a law respecting an establishment of religion. Not only that because there is the preferential tax treatment the government can censor what the clergy of a church say to the members of that church therefore it is a twofold violation.

There's no preferential treatment.

You don't see the irony of your argument? Is your argument that some religion is being discriminated against?

Being legally tax exempt is not preferential treatment?

NO I am saying that we are being forced to pay for services that religious establishments use even though they pay no taxes.

It's not if all churches receive the same treatment.

Face it. You hate religion.

 

[BulletProof]

Oh, ok... but taxes is being paid on it. You make it seem like it's a simple process you can walk up to someone and give them $50K and it's no big deal. That's not true. Taxes have to be paid on any gift of $14K or more. So regardless of paying taxes on the money already when you earned it, any gift of $14K or more you have to pay another tax... that is if you follow the law.

Damn, you are such a stupid fucktard who doesn't know shit about what you're talking about, even when you have an article to read and me to explain things to you.

Listen up, fucktard, no one gets taxed on giving or receiving gifts. Ever. That's not what the "gift tax" is about.

So, fucktard, what's the tax rate on the dollar in a $14k+$1 gift? You can't find it because it doesn't exist.

 

[Lewdog]

Oh, ok... but taxes is being paid on it. You make it seem like it's a simple process you can walk up to someone and give them $50K and it's no big deal. That's not true. Taxes have to be paid on any gift of $14K or more. So regardless of paying taxes on the money already when you earned it, any gift of $14K or more you have to pay another tax... that is if you follow the law.

Damn, you are such a stupid fucktard who doesn't know shit about what you're talking about, even when you have an article to read and me to explain things to you.

Listen up, fucktard, no one gets taxed on giving or receiving gifts. Ever. That's not what the "gift tax" is about.

Bullshit. It says you can not give a single individual $14K or more without having to pay a tax on it. It goes to a lifetime pool you have.

You just don't fucking understand how your statement lacks context.

 

[BulletProof]

Bullshit. It says you can not give a single individual $14K or more without having to pay a tax on it. It goes to a lifetime pool you have.

You just don't fucking understand how your statement lacks context.

So, anything over 14K goes into a pool? What for, fucktard? And, what does that have to do with the church or person getting the gift? You don't know shit about what you're talking about.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever. But, you're a proud fucktard.

 

[Lewdog]

Bullshit. It says you can not give a single individual $14K or more without having to pay a tax on it. It goes to a lifetime pool you have.

You just don't fucking understand how your statement lacks context.

So, anything over 14K goes into a pool? What for, fucktard? And, what does that have to do with the church or person getting the gift? You don't know shit about what you're talking about.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever. But, you're a proud fucktard.

It goes into a pool of your life time exemption.

You really don't understand what "context" means do you?

When you make a statement that you can just give someone $50K without taxes being involved, that lacks context. It's not the entire story. But you think you can cover all that up by calling me names. Guess what? You can't.

Asshat.

"There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever." - This statement is ABSOLUTELY false.

 

[BulletProof]

It goes into a pool of your life time exemption.

The gift goes into a pool of exemptions? Do you think exemptions are taxes? You're stupid.

When you make a statement that you can just give someone $50K without taxes being involved, that lacks context. It's not the entire story. But you think you can cover all that up by calling me names. Guess what? You can't.

I call you a fucktard because you refuse to accept basic, simple, and relevant facts.

"There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever." - This statement is ABSOLUTELY false.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever.

 

[Lewdog]

It goes into a pool of your life time exemption.

The gift goes into a pool of exemptions? Do you think exemptions are taxes? You're stupid.

When you make a statement that you can just give someone $50K without taxes being involved, that lacks context. It's not the entire story. But you think you can cover all that up by calling me names. Guess what? You can't.

I call you a fucktard because you refuse to accept basic, simple, and relevant facts.

"There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever." - This statement is ABSOLUTELY false.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts. Ever.

The exemptions go towards you having to eventually pay taxes...

Once a person hits their exemption limit they have to pay taxes... Your statement is false.

Go ahead and continue to be a dumbass. I'm not going to continue to argue with you when someone can easily find out for themselves you are wrong.

 

[BulletProof]

The exemptions go towards you having to eventually pay taxes...

Once a person hits their exemption limit they have to pay taxes... Your statement is false.

Go ahead and continue to be a dumbass. I'm not going to continue to argue with you when someone can easily find out for themselves you are wrong.

On the bright side, you're slowly learning something. But, it looks like your brain is finally warn out, and you're going to stop here. Too bad, fuctktard, you'll remain ignorant.

Fucktard, the "gift tax" just limits how much money you can exclude from estate taxes, so that you're not using gifts to potential heirs to avoid taxes. (Fucktard, the estate tax is a substitute for capital gains taxes on profits). Gift taxes aren't taxes and aren't even relevant to money given to churches. Now, go fuck off in peace, fucktard.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts, ever.

 

[Lewdog]

The exemptions go towards you having to eventually pay taxes...

Once a person hits their exemption limit they have to pay taxes... Your statement is false.

Go ahead and continue to be a dumbass. I'm not going to continue to argue with you when someone can easily find out for themselves you are wrong.

On the bright side, you're slowly learning something. But, it looks like your brain is finally warn out, and you're going to stop here. Too bad, fuctktard, you'll remain ignorant.

Fucktard, the "gift tax" just limits how much money you can exclude from estate taxes, so that you're not using gifts to potential heirs to avoid taxes. (Fucktard, the estate tax is a substitute for capital gains taxes on profits). Gift taxes aren't taxes and aren't even relevant to money given to churches. Now, go fuck off in peace, fucktard.

There are no taxes on giving or receiving gifts, ever.

You try soooo hard, and still fail.

 

[Synthaholic]

Religion is not a business.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Church is a business that produces bullshit.

 

[ding]

Church is a business that produces bullshit.

Throughout our nation's history, churches have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government. This is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions compete with the state for the people's allegiance, and many devout people put their faith in God before putting their faith in the state. Knowing this, the secularists wage an ongoing war against religion, chipping away bit by bit at our nation's Christian heritage. Dr. Ron Paul

 

[Synthaholic]

Congress shall make no law.

Taxes are laws.

Not difficult to understand

don't cherry pick the first amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Giving religions a pass on taxes is passing a law respecting the establishment of religion. So the tax free ride the business of religion gets violates the first amendment. Taxing the business of religion does not interfere with the free exercise of religion it simply treats religion like any other business

Churches are simply treated like other non-profits, it's just easier for them to get the exemption.

That's the point. I don't think any business should get an exemption.
If you want to be a nonprofit then show zero profit every year there is no need for any special treatment

Most Churches are not businesses. If a government agency thinks one is, they should go after it.

Then that agency gets demolished on FoxNews in twisted stories about how the gummint is trying to take away your religious freedom.

And if it was happening under Obama? There would be 10 Congressional hearings going on.

Don't deny it.