Why not tax the churches?

I will give you the most real and most important answer.

Why not tax the churches you ask. Ok, why not tax the big multinational corporations more? why extend the Bush tax for the richest of the rich? why not have a higher estate tax for the larger estates? notice a sort of pattern there?

Ok, now you have the answer. The answer is clearly and unequivocally, the people running the US government want to bankrupt the country. I promised you the most real and most important answer. There is no other way to explain it...when you have a govt which for decades is being run in the red bleeding massive deficits and everytime you turn around you see that govt writing more and more checks and borrowing more and more money from foreign govts.....and not only that...you see that govt consistently slash taxes and give tax cuts to even the wealthiest of the rich while allowing major corporations to pay very little tax compared to what they used to......the conclusion can only be that they are doing it on purpose..trying to usher in a period of bankruptcy so that some other agenda can be ushered it. What is that agenda? Bonus answer...is this is easy....look at trade policy, look at outsourcinig of jobs, look at how they despise unions, look at illegal immigration influx of dirt cheap labor, look at HB1 visa imports....look at how now they are poised to slash social security benefits and gleefully put in austerity measures ..they have already shown their hand.

<<Why not tax the churches?>>

Why tax the Churches?

<<Since the churches <snip> any other corporation?>>

So you're only talking about the Church in your country? When you speak of "taxing the Church", you need to think in global terms. The Church is global - and no earthly authority has the authority to tax the global Church.

In countries where people are allowed to vote, it's not against secular law for people to use their religion as a proverbial limtus paper for deciding which candidate is best.

Put simply, you can't enforce the policies you endorse without being discriminatory - and you wouldn't want to be accused of discrimination, would you? No one likes people who discriminate.

<<Source: Catholics are told to not vote for pro choice candidates.>>

They are ADVISED not to, and rightly so as abortion is absolutely incompatible with Catholic Morality.

This is what I mean when I say discriminatory. First you spoke of taxing "Churches", but now it's obvious that you're targetting - DISCRIMINATING - against Catholics specifically.

Can I presume you're from the USA? You should know that the Constitution of the United States expressly forbids the exact sort of policies you're attempting to put forth here.

<<I know churches have tax exempt status, but my question is why should they?>>

Again, we're talking the USA, right? The Constitution of the United States FORBIDS the government from interfering with organized religion in the country. It CANNOT tax organized religion. It's that simple.

<<They are a business just like GM.>>

GM is a business.

The Church is, well, a Church.

The two are VERY different things.

<<Don't give me that not for profit garbage.>>

The Church IS non-for-profit.

You're not a person who likes FACTS, are you?

<<Think of the <snip> why should they?

>>

YOU ARE picking on the Catholics! The Catholic Church is the only you've mentioned thus far. Your petty honorable mention of Scientology is as transparent as it is insincere.

As for the money. . . what money? The annual budget of Vatican City is no larger than the annual budget of the city of Chicago and, more often than not, ends in the "red". Ending in the 'red' is NOT indicative of an organization tripping over money.

Think of the panic that this stupid country went through when it thought GM, among other financial malcontents, nearly went under. I'm sure you're aware of that whole mess? Why is it then you are so quick to ignore the financial reality of the Catholic Church?

You have not thought things through.

why indeed.

they use the commons - the roads, police, fire departments - more than most i would bet.

religions are all about power and money - for this they should also be taxed.

do you know why catholic priests are not allowed to marry - i mean the real reason.

it's to make sure that any assets any priests have when they die go to the church and not immediate family (sons, daughters, wives...). this is how family assets from all over the world get absorbed into the church gradually over time - making them hugely wealthy, all the more so because they never have to bother paying taxes.

and don't buy the 'non-profit' status thing. just because an organization is non-profit does not mean that they don't pay huge salaries to bosses and just call it an expense.

Catholics are told how to be Catholics, which the Church has every right to inform them of. If these people don't want to be Catholic...then they don't have to. But since they are professing a faith, by being in the pews every Sunday, the Catholic Church can tell them what being Catholic entails. This is not a violation of their tax exempt status.

No one is forced to vote a particular way, only informed of what their professed faith believes.

Abortion is not a political issue it is a moral issue. The law of God is higher than the law of man. Just because politicians have wrangled a moral issue and caused it to be political, does not mean the Church can no longer have a say. Morality has always been the arena of the Church, and continues to be so no matter what politicians decide.

Planned Parenthood is also a tax exempt organization. Yet they hosted Obama and openly supported his agenda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUl99id2SvM

How is that not in violation of their tax-exempt status?

I would be OK with that. But how about taxing the 47% of Americans who pay NO TAXES?!! That would bring in far more money than taxing churches! During the campaign Obama said the everyone needed skin in the game! So why are 47% not forced to have skin in the game?!

Calm down Angel you are not alone in that concept of Churches should pay taxes. There is one religious group that legally had tax exempt status but refuses it and pays its taxes. The Church of Satan.

Church buildings are the only moneymaking (no pun meant) firms that don't seem to be taxed. Allow them to remark on political issues, all they need. The day they try to influence legislation type the pulpit, though, the government will have to tax the ever-loving **** out of them. For the file, the remark was now not about taxing church goers, however the churches, themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree. If they use the pulpit for ANY political reasons, their tax exempt status should be forfeit.

They are considered a "Non-Profit Organization". Since they are not out to make a profit like businesses or corporations, they can't be taxed, just like a Charity.

they should as they take up choice real estate. there is no reason not to tax them as they are all for profit.