Originally posted by korath
Hard to say if they should be taxed or not, ones that run soup kitchens and operate on a tight budget are one thing, but these guys on television
raking in the money are something else. I'd say after legitimate expenses are paid to run the church, taxed what's left over. If it's below a
certain amount, leave it alone. There's no reason to have a lot at the end of the year anyway if it's going to the poor as intended.
Churches, Mosques, Synagogues and many Temples control huge amounts of money. They also own billions of dollars in real estate. Most of them pretend
that they don't have money because if people knew how much they had, they would not donate money to them.
A regular business has overhead, employees, and product cost. On top of that, they have to pay real estate taxes, and somehow make a profit or go out
of business.
Churches are a cash business with little expense compared to ordinary businesses.
Anyone can claim religious status, even you. So if you want to get out of paying taxes set up your own religion, even out of your house. Have a few
friends over and play Nintendo and drink beer.
Religion is one segment of the economy that keeps growing even in bad economic times. Drive out to any suburb in America and see how many of them
religious institutions are popping up all over the place.
The many thousands of "home made" religions remain out of sight and out of mind, but reaping millions if not billions of tax benefits too.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm saying they should pay their fair share on the money they take in, like the rest of us.
) 
