He also quotes Roy Moore, Republican nominee for State Supreme Court Chief Justice:
“The jurisdiction of the federal government has no authority over the church, and yet they took that authority,”
[*Old habits die hard. They actually call it The Alabama Media Group. And in about 30 years that's what people may say.]
This is ridiculous. The country's debt problem could be solved if we taxed churches. Yet, even though they preach politics and religion, somehow they are tax exempt.
ReplyDeleteI doubt taxing churches would solve the country's debt problem.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are churches with beautiful architecture and furnishings, their actual budgets are often razor-thin. Most of their budgets are for personnel--clergy, secretaries, maintenance workers, etc. The cost for health insurance is astronomical.
And, too, those big old churches are expensive to heat in the winter and cool in the summer.
There are two reasons, basically, for not taxing religious organizations: separation of church and state, and those religious organizations (with the exception of Westboro Baptist Church) provide much good in the community. They attract people to move into their areas and thus boost real estate values.
By the way, those employees of churches pay taxes like everyone else. Ordained clergy must pay ALL of their FICA requirements, not halfsies with the employer.