Should churches pay taxes?

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eric76
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03 Oct 2015, 10:31 am

The country of Finland has compulsory "church taxes" that are a percentage of the income tax.

pcuser
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03 Oct 2015, 11:05 am

I believe Germany still does as well.

Edenthiel
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03 Oct 2015, 2:31 pm

eric76 wrote:

The country of Finland has compulsory "church taxes" that are a percentage of the income tax.

Now that's interesting - don't tax the churches, tax the congregation for attending said churches?

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pcuser
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03 Oct 2015, 3:27 pm

Actually, even if you attend no church, you still pay the tax. Talk about unfair...

Shrapnel
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03 Oct 2015, 9:12 pm

Churches should pay taxes the same as unions pay taxes . . . Oh wait.

Kraichgauer
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03 Oct 2015, 9:17 pm

Shrapnel wrote:

Churches should pay taxes the same as unions pay taxes . . . Oh wait.

Try making big corporations pay taxes.

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Shrapnel
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03 Oct 2015, 9:51 pm

Kraichgauer wrote:

Try making big corporations pay taxes.

They already do.

cathylynn
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03 Oct 2015, 10:46 pm

Shrapnel wrote:

Kraichgauer wrote:

Try making big corporations pay taxes.

They already do.

not if they can help it. they expatriate their profits and pull other shenanigans to avoid it.

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03 Oct 2015, 11:12 pm

cathylynn wrote:

not if they can help it. they expatriate their profits and pull other shenanigans to avoid it.

As does every intelligent citizen.

Edenthiel
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03 Oct 2015, 11:18 pm

pcuser wrote:

Actually, even if you attend no church, you still pay the tax. Talk about unfair...

According to Pew Research, the only country that does that is Switzerland?
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... ore-taxes/

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04 Oct 2015, 12:35 am

Shrapnel wrote:

cathylynn wrote:

not if they can help it. they expatriate their profits and pull other shenanigans to avoid it.

As does every intelligent citizen.

What's unacceptable about that is, big corporations can afford to pay taxes, as can wealthy individuals, and so the tax burden gets put on people who can't afford taxes. Worse, the most vulnerable individuals who would otherwise benefit from the social safety net not only find that those benefits are no longer there due to lack of tax money, because the wealthy are stingy, but are blamed for the country's economic woes for needing help.

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andrethemoogle
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04 Oct 2015, 12:12 pm

I think churches should pay taxes if they don't help the community, like feeding the needy, helping out with various causes, etc.

Especially those stupid "mega-churches", which to me are nothing more than a front for megalomaniacs to prey on people's fears and get them to donate vast sums of money to them. It makes me feel uneasy whenever I see them on TV. They're not even religious, they just want money. Like, what do they need with a 65 million dollar jet?

Kuraudo777
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04 Oct 2015, 2:06 pm

You know, it seems to me that the biggest crises of human history originated from viewing other people as objects or obstacles to overcome and crush. There's my two cents, so to speak.

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05 Oct 2015, 1:00 pm

andrethemoogle wrote:

Unfortunately, that concept can be and has been abused. Starting in the early 2000's as part of the President's, 'Faith Based Initiative', grants and federal funding for public social services were drastically cut and the money re-granted to contracts for churches to provide the services instead. Like most cases of privatization, the change was not good for the consumer (in this case, homeless people, addicts, people with mental illnesses) and even worse for a certain targeted subset such as abused & pregnant low income women and children, homeless LGBT people and children, etc.. Catholic Charities is a fine example. At $20 million per contract, they should not be allowed to let their religious needs interfere with providing care. There are countless other examples throughout the country.

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GnosticBishop
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08 Oct 2015, 12:02 pm

Edenthiel wrote:

slave wrote:

GnosticBishop wrote:

Chakravartin wrote:

The question should be if secular and religious non-profit organizations should have to pay taxes, no they shouldn't.

If one has to pay taxes, then the other should too. If one doesn't, then the other should too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyy0ykPqZn0

http://www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities/

Thieves should be taxed.

Regards
DL

...AND imprisoned

As should the thousands of child molesters protected by the Vatican. Instead, we give them tax exclusions and exclusions from anti-discrimination laws.

+1

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DL

slave
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31 Oct 2015, 12:47 am

pcuser wrote:

I believe Germany still does as well.

That is correct.
Great gig for the church...the state enforces 'donations' and even does the admin. :lol:

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