Churches that participate in political activity need to have all of their tax breaks removed, including property
taxes on church property at the local level.
Not exact matches
The average commercial
property tax rate in America is 1.940 %, which would mean that the
church is getting out of about another $ 20 million annually in
property taxes, based
on the estimate that it owns $ 1.5 billion in real estate.
When Regan v. Taxation is linked with Bob Jones, the court's direction
on the question of
tax exemption for
churches is clear: the foundation has been laid for
taxing church property and perhaps even
church income.
The potential impact of this shift
on churches becomes apparent when one realizes that the average local government receives 64 per cent of its general revenue from
property taxes and that
churches own a vast amount of untaxed
property.
On the state level, specific exemptions from
property taxes for
churches were established in Virginia in 1777, New York in 1799, and the city of Washington in 1802.
Of course, being the
church as you are, you don't have to pay for gigantic buildings, state - of - the - art sound systems, 17 pastoral staff members, and carefully groomed landscaping
on a 150 acres of
tax - free
church property.
I know of a synod of a
church body which, wishing to put the matter of financial support of the «program» of the
church on a less obviously allocated basis than characterizes the
property tax office of the municipality, came up with a «fresh» idea: each should give as the Lord had prospered him — the synod called it the «Grace system»!
What prevents it from having a negative impact
on the
church budget, is the
property tax exemption that 501c3 organizations have.
If we had separation of
church and state,
churches would be paying
taxes on their
property like the rest of us.
Time to start
taxing churches on their income and
property.
Union dues Medical, dental, prescription drugs and other health care costs Real estate
taxes State and local income
taxes Interest paid
on a home mortgage Personal
property taxes Cash contributions to
churches and charities Interest paid
on investments Market value of non-cash contributions to
churches and charities Personal losses due to theft or casualty Job - related expenses you were not reimbursed for Home office expenses Job - related education and professional development
Tax preparation fees Investment fees and expenses
Itemized deductions also include mortgage interest paid
on a home loan, personal losses due to theft or accident, state and local income or sales
taxes,
property taxes (
on real estate as well as personal
property), charitable contributions to
churches and other qualified nonprofit organizations, gambling losses (provided they are offset by gambling winnings), and home office expenses.
More commonly, perhaps, people attempt to form
churches or to become recognized as ministers of
churches in order to avoid
taxes, whether
on property or income.