Why are "mega churches" still tax excepmt?

I've been to several of the "mega-churches" in my immediate area and other cities I've lived in.

It doesn't take a lot of brains to see that some of these organizations are hugely profitable. The largest church in my town sprawls over almost 1/4 a mile of highway and has a budget in the millions.

A good part of this is forked over by the tens of thousands of churchgoers, but this particular church supplements its budget by running a school, a cafe catering to college students, a book and tape sales company, and various other small-time venues.

I have a serious issue with this church and others like it, which clearly engage in business ventures, being considered "tax-exempt."

Even if there is no business venture included, I think churches should not automatically be granted tax-excempt status because they are a church, but instead granted tax excemptions on certain charitible activities, for example if they run a soup kitchen or a women's shelter.

Think of it this way. If I convinced someone to hand me 10% of their income , the IRS would certainly come after me for their cut, no matter what I planned to do with it. I don't favor taxes of course but I think that they should be applied evenly, across individuals, churches, and businesses.

i would ask why any churches should get special tax treatment

i can understand it for charaties where all the money goes to help others but thats not the case with churches

maybe give them tax breaks just on what they spend for charatable causes and by that i dont mean bible study groups for beleivers but actual real charity work that helps the needy

The Richest Man on Earth

"In a statement published in connection with a bond prospectus, the Boston archdiocese listed its assets at Six Hundred and Thirty-five Million ($635,891,004), which is 9.9 times its liabilities. This leaves a net worth of Five Hundred and Seventy-one million dollars ($571,704,953). It is not difficult to discover the truly astonishing wealth of the church, once we add the riches of the twenty-eight archdioceses and 122 dioceses of the U.S.A., some of which are even wealthier than that of Boston.

"The Catholic church, once all her assets have been put together, is the most formidable stockbroker in the world. The Vatican, independently of each successive pope, has been increasingly orientated towards the U.S. The Wall Street Journal said that the Vatican's financial deals in the U.S. alone were so big that very often it sold or bought gold in lots of a million or more dollars at one time.

"The Catholic church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. The pope, as the visible ruler of this immense amassment of wealth, is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century. No one can realistically assess how much he is worth in terms of billions of dollars."

Source

[edit on 5-11-2008 by warrenb]

Churches get those exemptions because the "Church" is above the government!!
They rule.
They have ruled for a very long time.
They have pulled a clever smoke and mirrors trick that very few are aware of.
To get some clues - study the history of religion.

When Christianity took over one of the big things they did was to impose the "tithe". A 10% tax on everyone!! Since fear was their modus operandi the sucker followers paid so that they would not go to "hell" to suffer eternal damnation from their loving god.

Knowledge will set you free, but first it will make you very angry.

oh yeah, i feel that if a church makes over 250,000 a year, it should defiantly be taxed. apparently America just became the USSA, so why not? tythings should be used to HELP THE COMMUNITY. the side ventures should be taxed.
and correct me if im wrong but didnt Jesus over throw the money counters table inside the church?

good post as always.

reply to post by drsmooth23
yes but your forgetting

that was thier money collectors not ours and ours collect for jesus

remember God $ave$ all who ask and donate

Warren B:

Thanks for those statistics!

I didn't think to put the Catholic church statistics in this post becaue the mega-churches I see seem to be mostly Protestant, Evangelical, or Charaismatic, and I was focusing more on American laws.

But without a doubt, the Vatican is an often overlooked part of world economics, if only indirectly, because of its policies.

Originally posted by drsmooth23
oh yeah, i feel that if a church makes over 250,000 a year, it should defiantly be taxed. apparently America just became the USSA, so why not? tythings should be used to HELP THE COMMUNITY. the side ventures should be taxed.
and correct me if im wrong but didnt Jesus over throw the money counters table inside the church?

good post as always.

Hopefully so.

I think a lot of our church-and-state separation problems would evaporate if it wasn't so easy to hide a business behind a church.

I will never understand these mega churches and how they operate. I know of one such church in Charlotte, NC. It is nicknamed the "Mary Kay Palace" because it is huge and pink.

The pastor is dripping in gold jewelry a Rolex watch and the latest Tommy Bahama fashions. This guy has no other job or income source that I am aware of and yet people scrape and sacrifice for their own families just to give their tithe to the church. The church practically demands it. I guess the money is used for fashion and the shuttle buses in the parking lot. The parking lot is far greater than it needs to be so the church can hold the land tax free and later sell it off at profit. The excess is disgusting. But people believe in it and come in droves. I will never understand it.

The IRS would have a field in the office.

Yes, I know that type... what really gets me is how the "flock" condones that kind of behavior... whatever happened to poverty as a virtue? If I was hocking over 10% I'd want a monthly account of every penny.

reply to post by asmeone2


I've heard the message that God wants you to be wealthy and wants you to have all of the toys and the Bible dictates this truth. Yadda Yadda This BS was presented to me by a Quixtar/Amway guru once. He even had audio tapes of a mega pastor from New Orleans preaching the madness. They use God as a shield and a crutch. They will certainly reap what they sow.

They're all cults, every one of them, if you ask me. The thing that scares me most about megachurches is the fanatical dedication to the person leading it.