Pro or Con - Charitable tax status

[MrBishop]

Should non-profit or religious institutions keep their tax status?

 

[highwayman]

If it is a legitimate institution..

 

[Gonz]

Absolutely. In fact, they ought to make government sponsored welfare illegal & return to this being the job of the churches. Less tax & more charity.

 

[chcr]

Only on such monies as are used specifically for humanitarian aid (which, I might add, I don't even have to pay taxes on).

 

[Luis G]

Dunno what their status is over there. But since they are not profiting with it I say they shouldn't pay taxes at all.

 

[unclehobart]

Tax them. Religion became a business ages ago.

 

[tonksy]

I concur.

 

[chcr]

Dunno what their status is over there. But since they are not profiting with it I say they shouldn't pay taxes at all.

Problem is that they do profit, Luis.

 

[Gato_Solo]

Problem is that they do profit, Luis.

Depends upon what you see as profit. If the 'excess' money goes into a trust for a charitable institution, then its not profit.

Ask MrBish how much 'profit' his church makes, and ask him how it breaks down. Since he works for a church, he'd have a better grasp than I on how it works.

 

[chcr]

Depends upon what you see as profit. If the 'excess' money goes into a trust for a charitable institution, then its not profit.

Ask MrBish how much 'profit' his church makes, and ask him how it breaks down. Since he works for a church, he'd have a better grasp than I on how it works.

He doesn't work for the church anymore, Gato. I think he's involved in selling weaponry online. Anyway, If the money goes to a legitimate charity, no problem. Other businesses can do the same thing more or less. Point is, churches get preferential treatment because they're churches and some abuse it (and make a handsome profit as a "business"). If you level the playing field, the ones that are doing it right will have to account for it (shouldn't they anyway?) but the cheaters will be subject to penalties. Win-win, IMO.

 

[unclehobart]

Does this qualify? http://www.newsnet5.com/travelgetaways/4713706/detail.html

How about the massive opulence of the Vatican?

I still remember this guy and his dozen Rolls Royces: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh

 

[Gato_Solo]

Does this qualify? http://www.newsnet5.com/travelgetaways/4713706/detail.html

Not really..mostly because of this...

The Holy Land Experience in Orlando is operated by a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian ministry called Zion's Hope, which is devoted to converting Jews to Christianity.

If all of their 'profit' goes to their charity, then they've met the criteria. Since neither you, nor I, have access to their books, anything else is speculation.

How about the massive opulence of the Vatican?

Ahhh...built when, and by whom? Also supported by whom? And, finally, isn't the Vatican it's own country?

I still remember this guy and his dozen Rolls Royces: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh

I remember him as well. Weren't those cars all gifts from celebs currying favor? Also...wasn't he implicated in several criminal activities? Most religions try to avoid that kind of exposure...

In 1984, a bioterrorist attack involving salmonella typhimurium contamination in the salad bars of the 10 restaurants at The Dalles, Oregon, was traced to the Rajneeshee group.[2][3] The attack sickened about 750 people and hospitalized forty-five; none died. It was the first known bioterrorist attack of the 20th century in the United States, and is the largest germ warfare attack in U.S. history. Eventually Sheela and Ma Anand Puja, one of Sheela's close associates, confessed to the salmonella attack (the test run of a plan to incapacitate large numbers of Wasco County residents on an upcoming election day) and to attempted poisonings on county officials.

 

[unclehobart]

If all of their 'profit' goes to their charity, then they've met the criteria. Since neither you, nor I, have access to their books, anything else is speculation.

Ahhh...built when, and by whom? Also supported by whom? And, finally, isn't the Vatican it's own country?

I remember him as well. Weren't those cars all gifts from celebs currying favor? Also...wasn't he implicated in several criminal activities? Most religions try to avoid that kind of exposure...

Having no books to access, it gives me concern as to where the money is really going. I would like to see some kind of oversight... but with the basic mantra of church and state separation, it makes such a proposal dicey at best. I do think that the first time the preacher start talking about politics and proclaiming support for one candidate or party over another, they have shed their protections and need to be taxed accordingly.

The Vatican is only the last little vestige of the full-blown Papal States. When a religion gets its own country it has shifted from religion to theocracy. That is just too much power for any one segment of society to have. Lets set them aside though as they are a non-US entity and hardly subject to our tax laws.

I don't recall if the cars were gifts or not... but the whole operation reeked of a classic 'freaky cult' instead of any kind of spiritual enlightenment. When you isolate onto a compound in the deep dark woods and live every moment in a brainwashing feudal system meant to enrich the top dogs... something is wrong, e.g., Koresh, Jim Jones...

I do beleive that the vast majority of it is good and means to do good... but there is that 10% element that exists to abuse the system and attempts to manufacture legal protections behind the skirt of religious freedoms. There needs to be some kind of oversight in order to catch the seeds of corruption at the inset.

 

[SouthernN'Proud]

I do beleive that the vast majority of it is good and means to do good... but there is that 10% element that exists to abuse the system and attempts to manufacture legal protections behind the skirt of religious freedoms. There needs to be some kind of oversight in order to catch the seeds of corruption at the inset.

A better batting average than exists in your choice of housing projects I would wager. Or list of WIC enrollees. Or credibility of the typical political candidate's campaign ad.

So we want to penalize 90% to teach the 10% a lesson, and show them how much we hate religion in the process. Nice. Go for it. Just as soon as we discontinue the handouts so many feel are their entitlement and birthright. In fact, if we cleaned up the welfare system the money we as a society would save would make any perceived fraud by a church pale in comparison. Of course, we wouldn't get the pleasure of jabbing the religious folk, and since that's where the real fun is...





*not singling unc out, his was the best quote to use as a platform*

 

[MrBishop]

What about Mr. Joel Osteen..the smiling televangelist?

Gato, there is a HUGE difference between the local church and the gargantuan organizations such as televangelists, and the rest of the organized $100M+ /year born-again clubs like Scientology.

 

[2minkey]

Absolutely. In fact, they ought to make government sponsored welfare illegal & return to this being the job of the churches. Less tax & more charity.

yeah then they can moralize as they hand out bread. that would be super. *barf*

or maybe we could get islamic charities running a bunch of shit here. how'd ya like that?

 

[Gonz]

or maybe we could get islamic charities running a bunch of shit here. how'd ya like that?

Beats the crap out of the State Bureau of Handouts to the Needy & the lazy Office Branch Division.

 

[BeardofPants]

If you're looking at getting rid of tax exemptions, why not focus on the groups that earn over a certain amount instead of the smaller outfits?

 

[Gonz]

Tax the rich & feed the poor?

 

[unclehobart]

I hate exemptions, I hate graduated tax scales, I hate special interests. Everyone and everything should pay a flat percentage. That would be true equal protection under the law.