religion is free, there is no demand that you donate to a church, donations are voluntary. All that I have gathered after reading this thread is that DD disagrees with the idea of religion.
Our church gives thousands and thousands of dollars to aid other charitable causes. We provide food, money and volunteers to shelters and food banks and poor communities. We can't build a gym unless our financial house is in order. We don't funnel money from charitable projects to expand our worship space. When we build, we must have a capital campaign which folks donate to over and above what their usual support is. Our church is not unique in this regard. I don't know what bad experience you had in the past with churches, but there are tons more good ones than bad ones and you ought not lump all churches together with whatever your experience was.
let's compare that to non-church situations, where double taxation is being enforced. inheritance (from parents who had already fully paid their taxes) are taxed (a second time) to the recipients dividends (from corporation who had already fully paid their taxes) are taxed ( a second time) to the recipients
Although I believe houses of worship should be tax exempt unless they or staff members participate in political campaigns, here is an good example of why people want to tax houses of worship. Sketchy tax break for GZ imam 'prayer pad' http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/sketchy_tax_break_for_gz_imam_prayer_4DtxTQNfOotrzkJ3FFrPWJ ^ The leader of the Ground Zero mosque got hugely valuable tax-exempt status for a Muslim organization he founded after claiming as many as 500 of its members prayed daily in a small, one-bedroom Upper West Side apartment also listed as his wife's residence, The Post has learned. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (the N.Y. mosque/center leader) sought "church status" -- an official IRS term for a house of worship of any religion -- for the American Sufi Muslim Association, or ASMA, in 1998. The feds granted the request. "Church status" is more than just an exemption -- it means never having to pay taxes, file returns or reveal the sources of a congregation's money or how it's spent, according to the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, which discovered the group's startling claims on the IRS form it filed seeking the special status. On that form, the organization said it held services at 201 W. 85th St.
I think operations like televangelists (PTL, TBN, etc) give me the most concern about having a tax exempt status. Here is a rather lengthy scholarly article discussing the resurrection (pun intended) of the tax the churches idea. It is much too long to post, but is interesting. It touches on many of the points discussed in this thread. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v23/ai_10658405/
I don't know about the article being "scholarly" when they butcher the title of "Foul Play" and call it "Foley Play".
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If it makes money, it should be taxed. Would tax a cat making 8 Billion a year? You bet your butt you would.
i don't know the exact requirements for a non-profit but from my understanding they are fairly liberal. i'm not a fan of a lot of tax deductions gained via donating to the art gallery or symphony. i understand the tricky situation when trying to determine whether a certain charitable cause is worthy of tax deductions, and when another isn't. but fundamentally i think donating so you can rename a performing hall for your name shouldn't be deductible. i think my basic concern is that these deductions are really only useful for the middle or probably more so upper middle class and up. everyone else is taking the standard deduction anyway, so they aren't itemizing and not able to deduct it. thus we are essentially subsidizing the charities wealthy support, instead of taxing it and distributing the resources to causes which are helping the less fortunate. similarly, overall i'm not too much of a fan of deductions for religious organization. i don't want to subsidize elite religion to the tune of 33% or 28%. admittedly, when you kill deductions for an art gallery, the federal government can decide to fund the NEA more, whereas when you stop deductions to a church, it's not so easy.
Got this email today...thought it could be helpful: Governance of Nonprofit Organizations Course 2010 MCLE Credit: 13.75 hrs (including 2.25 ethics hrs) which applies to the College of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law, Estate Planning and Probate Law and Tax Law. Video Replay Houston, September 23-24, 2010 Crowne Plaza River Oaks Register by September 9 and Save $50! Get More Info or Register Topics Include: • Thomas Reeder - Benefits Tax Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance presentation on "The Federal Legislative Climate: Reading the Tax Tea Leaves" • IRS presentation on "IRS Speaks: What We are Seeing Now" • Transactions Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations • Issues Facing Faith-Based Organizations • Waking Up a Failing Nonprofit Organization or Making End of Life Decisions Course Benefits Include: • Continental breakfast and lunch both days • Complimentary wireless signal • Electrical outlets provided for your laptop • Self-parking is complimentary at the Crowne Plaza River Oaks. Ask on-site State Bar staff to validate your parking ticket. Comments from the attendees of the live course in Austin in August: • "This course did not disappoint. It provided a wonderful overview and breadth of topics." • "I appreciate the opportunity to learn so much in one seminar from serious and well-prepared presenters. This course is one of the best organized for content and qualified presenters I've attended." If you have any questions or would like to register by phone, please call 1-800-204-2222 ext 1574. You may also register by fax or regular mail (please use the registration form provided in the course brochure.) Houston Hotel Room Information Call the Crowne Plaza River Oaks at 713-523-8448 to get the special State Bar of Texas room rate of $99.
Didn't want to start a new thread on this so thought it should go here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40960871/ns/politics-capitol_hill Televangelists escape penalty in Senate inquiry Pastors preached 'prosperity gospel,' which teaches that God wants to bless faithful with riches NEW YORK — A senator's high-profile investigation of spending by televangelists wrapped up after more than three years Thursday with no penalties for the pastors who refused to cooperate and no definitive findings of wrongdoing. The report released by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley raises questions about the personal use of church-owned airplanes, luxury homes and credit cards by pastors and their families, and expresses concern about the lack of oversight of finances by boards often packed with the televangelists' relatives and friends. However, the senator draws no specific conclusions about whether the ministries violated IRS rules that bar excessive compensation for leaders of religious nonprofits. Grassley, a Republican, began the investigation in November 2007 and released the report at the end of his tenure as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. The senator will remain on the Finance Committee, but will become the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. The six televangelists targeted in the investigation preach some form of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. Ministers in this tradition often hold up their own wealth as evidence that the teaching works. Many conservative Christians condemn the prosperity gospel and consider the televangelists an embarrassment. Still, leading evangelical organizations worried that Grassley's inquiry could lead to changes in tax rules for all religious nonprofits, so the groups protested. The flagship magazine of centrist evangelicals, Christianity Today, editorialized in 2008 that the Grassley investigation amounted to an "oversight overstep" that risked delving improperly into theology. The Alliance Defense Fund, a religious liberty legal group founded by James Dobson of Focus on the Family and other influential evangelicals, protested. The National Religious Broadcasters, a trade association, said the questions Grassley asked were too broad. All six of the targeted televangelists insisted they comply with tax regulations for religious nonprofits. Two — Joyce Meyer Ministries based in Missouri and Benny Hinn Ministries based in Irving, Texas — told Grassley they have made changes in how they govern their ministries or set compensation. But four of the televangelists would not provide full information to Grassley. Some pastors questioned whether Grassley had the authority to conduct the investigation. Others accused him of violating their religious freedom. Grassley's staff said in the report that they did not issue subpoenas to further the investigation because witnesses feared retaliation if they spoke out publicly and the Finance Committee did not have the time or resources to enforce the subpoenas. The four ministries that refused to provide full information are: * Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas; * Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries of College Park, Ga.; * Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries of Tampa, Fla. * Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop Eddie Long Ministries of Lithonia, Ga.; Long was recently sued by four young men who claim he coerced them into sexual relationships . The bishop has denied the allegations. Meyer released a statement Thursday affirming her pledge of financial transparency. Hinn said in a statement that his ministry's experience with the Finance Committee "has caused us to renew our commitment to always honor our partners' sacrificial giving." Long said he was "relieved" that the inquiry was done and said New Birth has always operated with integrity. Representatives for the other ministries did not immediately respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment. Grassley said he hoped the review would lead to an update in tax rules governing religious groups so abuses don't occur. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an independent accrediting group for churches and religious nonprofits, plans to create a national commission in response to the Grassley report to lead a review on accountability and policy.
the personal use of luxury homes, planes, credit cards and other *church assets* is what I find offensive (and criminal). And the use of the church's resources and image to promote 'personal business ventures' like books, tapes, speaking tours and the like. Those things should affect the church's charitable and tax exempt status. And should bring huge IRS penalties to the individuals benefiting. And jail time too.
