Trump's Death Cult Explained

[Jon Miller]

Don't see a problem, if the churches can't compete in the marketplace with other forms of entertainment

Other forms of entertainment only pay taxes on profits or sales. Churches do not have the former and for the most part do not have the latter.

The call to tax churches/religion (other than property taxes) is effectively making them a special class that pays much more taxes than anything else. It is effectively a 'sin' tax on organized religion.

There is a reason it is an obvious no-go in the US.

JM
(property taxes are a thing though... )

[-Jrabbit]

Well, certainly the megachurches, parochial schools, and video ministries are businesses. But most churches are actually what they say on the tin: local houses of worship, well-meaning, charitably inclined, and supported marginally via parishioner donations.

[Dauphin]

I would argue it is a business. It’s certainly not essential.

[BeBMan]

Dunno, but Trump's call for "more prayer" sums up his whole strategy to combat the virus quite well

[giblets]

Don't see a problem, if the churches can't compete in the marketplace with other forms of entertainment

[Jon Miller]

BTW, probably something like 10-20% of churches in the US will close their doors due to a lack of income (because people give less if they aren't in church).

The only churches I know that are solidly in the black are the Mormons and some evangelicals (namely the big name TV ones, even big megachurches are often mortgaged to the hilt).

To significantly tax churches (outside of property taxes) just isn't reasonable, would require churches to be treated as special 'businesses' with a much higher relative tax rate and would drive most churches underground.

JM

[Jon Miller]

They have income, it exceeds their expenses. Profit.

It most likely does not. At least not for any religion I know of. Most are in the red, and the question is just what they do not pay/do/etc.

If they were in the black, that wouldn't make it profit... because there are capital expenses/etc (at least, in for profit businesses).

The whole 'tax the churches' bit is pretty mixed up (other than property taxes).

JM
(note this is very different than the charitable deduction, and there are complexities of property taxes which are important in some jurisdictions and for some churches, especially the Catholic Church)

[-Jrabbit]

My point is, a house of worship is neither business nor essential.

[Dauphin]

Amazon had net sales of $178bn in 2017 and $233bn in 2018, with net bottom line earnings of $3bn and $10bn. Their income tax/corporation tax bills in the US were negative - the Feds paid them $137m and $129m.

Trump got in a tizzy with the UK and France for daring to try and get the FANGS to pay some tax, any tax.

Good luck taxing religion. They're even more slippery when it comes to money.

[giblets]

They have income, it exceeds their expenses. Profit.

[pchang]

The Catholic Church could probably raise a $1 billion from selling spare artworks in a yard sale.

[Jon Miller]

There is no profit or sales to be taxed, really. There is property taxes...

If you want to pull money from the churches (other than churches that own property but don't really have money, which is probably mostly the Catholic Church), the thing to do would be to remove the charitable deduction (Which is already very skewing and in favor fo the wealthy). But that doesn't really harm the church directly.

JM

[-Jrabbit]

Yes, but even with the hypocrisy on full display, their base cannot see it.

Also, Trump now claims churches are an "essential business." If that is true, I demand they pay taxes.

[BeBMan]

I read Fox is great with reopening the country but will continue work from home practice itself....

[rah]

I was channel surfing and paused on a fox news show and there was a display in the background titled Obamagate details and it read TBD.