General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: End the Tax Exempt Status of Churches! [View all]Orrex
(63,172 posts)By granting tax-exempt status to churches, the government is making a law respecting the establishment of religion; specifically, the law mandates that my tax dollars subsidize a religious institution. I find this an unacceptable mingling of church and state.
I am aware, for example, that churches accept an enormous sum of "donations" to bankroll their missionary programs abroad, as well as to provide "assistance" to troubled regions in the form of bibles and gospel literature. How can this explicitly evangelical work possibly qualify as tax-exempt non-profit? Feeding the homeless is one thing; preaching that Jesus is the Son of God is very much another. In my view there is no credible basis for tax-exempt proselytizing.
Of course, my tax dollars subsidize other institutions and programs to which I object, such as the "war on terror" and the subsidies to the oil industry. However, these are not religious institutions, so my objection doesn't enjoy 1st Amendment support. I still object to them quite strongly, but I need to pursue these objections via other avenues.
Honestly, I'm not conversant with the guidelines by which a given institution is certified tax-exempt, religious or otherwise. However, it seems to me that they should be under intense scrutiny, and all income above a basic wages and housekeeping should be subject to ordinary taxation. They are given an extraordinary privilege, so they need to demonstrate that they are entitled to it. Osteen's multi-million dollar super-mega-church simply doesn't qualify, and its tax-exemption is a big "Fuck you!" to everyone who actually pays taxes.