Philosophical Vegan Forum

Do you think we should tax religious facilities? Explain below.

I voted that we should, because the money could be used to fund important government programs that are objectively better than religion. Social security is more important than a billion dollar religious statue.
Sure, some would-be-taxed religious money goes to charity, but not all. All the money going to programs like Social Security is it all effectively going to charity.

I also don't see why they shouldn't be held to the same standard as other buildings.

Until the government can be more responsible with the money it already has, I see no need to give it more. Churches are funded solely by donations from parishioners, which is from money they presumably have left after they have already paid taxes. Church members that draw a salary should be taxed as with any other profession, though. (And just to "bust your chops" a bit, it seems a bit discriminatory not to include Mosques, Temples, and whatever the heck Scientologist call their places of "worship". )

They're all called churches in tax lingo. The only difference from other nonprofits in terms of the form "church" is that they don't have filing and transparency requirements (which is unfair), and they get nonprofit status automatically with no need to apply and spend hundreds of dollars (which is also unfair).

PsYcHo wrote:Churches are funded solely by donations from parishioners,

Incorrect. There are loopholes built into the law allowing churches to gain unrelated business income from holdings tax free.
I don't remember if other nonprofits can do this. I think they can.

PsYcHo wrote:which is from money they presumably have left after they have already paid taxes.

Incorrect. Donation to a church is a tax deduction (for income tax). You can donate up to 50% of your adjusted gross income and reduce your tax bill. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deductions

It is tax free income from tax free donations.
This, however, is the same with any nonprofit (with a few exceptions that have smaller limits).

PsYcHo wrote:Church members that draw a salary should be taxed as with any other profession, though.

They are with two unfair exceptions:

1. They can get a house provided by the church or a housing allowance tax free. (if they have taken a vow of poverty, they can receive room and board)
2. They can opt out of Social security. (Secular Amish also have this special privilege, in either case it's unfair).

I stand corrected. However, I stand by not giving any more more money to the government until they are more responsible with the money they already collect. (You'd think having preachers in my family I'd have known some of that. )

PsYcHo wrote:I stand corrected. However, I stand by not giving any more more money to the government until they are more responsible with the money they already collect. (You'd think having preachers in my family I'd have known some of that. )

Yeah, that's an interesting point. The money could go to Medicare/Medicaid, but it could also go to the military... Hm. It depends on the kind of government we have. With our current government and President, since I consider Obama generally left-wing (kind of), I still think it's be better to tax the churches. Of course, there's more to the government than the President, but Obama does still play an important role.

Also, I think that taxing churches makes separation of church and state stronger, and is a good way to establish that separation more strongly so that it can't be so easily chipped away at in other facets.

If the government was more responsible with how it spent tax dollars, I would have to say I agree with you on this one. If..

Hospitals pay taxes where i live, and they are more benefitial to society than churches, so i don't see why churches shouldn't be taxed as well.
Plus, think of everything that could be achieved with the money:
-You could increase the teacher's salaries, which is pretty low in my country (around 619 dollars a month) . This would encourage more people to take that job, and ultimately result in a better education.
-You could increase the quality of schools, which is also pretty low where i live. Most schools don't have a gym, or pool, and teachers have to pay for materials to use in class with their own money (Our current government doesn't really understand the importance of education xD). Not to mention a lot of rooms are overcrowded due to a lack of them.
-You could give scholarships to those in poverty to help them get through school, which would in the longrun, help reduce poverty, which would also help reduce crime.
-You could import newer technology for our hospitals, some people have to travel to other countries in order to get a certain type of surgery because we don't have the technology required for it here.
Even seeing how our government isn't that good handling money, i think we should tax the churches. As EquALLity said:

EquALLity wrote:I think that taxing churches makes separation of church and state stronger.

I am an atheist and have been since I was a child, but my family is very involved in church life. They are not conservative by any means, but their faith means a lot to them. Being exposed to this with regularity has somewhat changed my view.

I would say yes, with reservations. Some churches are barely getting by. A lot of churches are really positive influences on the lives of people, and it can be difficult to remember that sometimes. Many churches will low-income members cannot afford more than keeping the building intact and utilities funded alongside a few employed members (and sometimes even part-time only), even with the help of the loopholes listed above. In this case, no. This would destroy a place of worship for a group that likely benefits themselves and in many cases the community (assuming the congregation is active and cares).

If the church has an excess of funds and is thriving, then go for it. Perhaps increase the tax relative to the revenue (similar to a salary, right?).