Churches are self-supporting or they fold. It's that simple. If they don't get donations to pay for rent, they will get evicted. They don't expect or receive government dollars to subsidize their existence. The "not on my dime" phrase that keeps permeating has serious connotations as if they are being given money to exist and they're not. Many just can't be taxed on top of supporting themselves and survive.
It's very strange to read this post because of the contradictions:
- A church is self-supporting . . . but needs government tax breaks because churches can't support themselves.
- A church will get evicted if they don't pay rent . . . but churches don't pay property tax. So if they buy land, they never need to worry about being evicted ever again.
- Churches are not being given money to exist. Except tax money. They're being given this money every time that they are allowed to dodge paying taxes. Oh, and also the government pays people who donate to churches . . . thereby increasing the number of donations that churches get. That's an awful lot of money that they're being given by the government that is conveniently forgotten in your posts.
Lots of nonsense here.
No, not lots of nonsense here, and nothing is being conveniently forgotten. Look, I get it that we view taxes differently. You come from the side that the government's right to money is some fixed entity in time and space that cannot be infringed upon. The fact that you act like anyone buying property, owning it outright and not being able to be evicted because they don't pay property taxes is some affront or logical fallacy (a government could very easily do away with property taxes and do it solely as income tax and actually allow people to really own their land, for instance) shows that your view and mine of tax will never align.
In a democracy, we are the government. It's not some scary boogeyman waiting in the shadows to do us wrong. Taxation is certainly not some fixed entity in time and space, it changes all the time. It changes at our whim because we collect taxes to fund our society. There should be a significant societal benefit if we're choosing to give away the tax revenue that we are owed by an organization enjoying operation in our society.
Whatever your views of taxation, at the end of the day you need to pay your bills. We currently say that churches don't need to pay their bills to the government. That's not self-supporting.
I'll reiterate again, you are arguing against the concept of non profits in general. Non profits are there because enough people thought someone should be able to make an organization that didn't have to be taxed. Yes, an organization can be self-supporting, allowed because they don't pay taxes, and it doesn't mean they are not self-supporting. They are literally paying the bills to people for things they are using like electricity, water, etc. That means they are self-supporting. They are not a business. They are not set up like a business. They should not be taxed like a business, or, again, elminate non profits altogether.
Legally, in the US all non-profits except churches are required to file a detailed application form, fee and annual information to obtain and maintain their tax-exempt status.
The forms include information about governance, composition of the governing body, the management policies, a lists of officers/directors/trustees/key employees, the compensation paid by the organization to such persons, the organization’s mission, activities, and current and prior years’ financial results, reports of revenue and expenses, financial schedules, including information about donations and whether donations are spent on programs or management and fundraising, statements of revenue and functional expenses, etc.
Because there is no requirement to report any of this information, it's impossible to determine if any church is in fact operating like other non-profits. This creates an excellent opportunity for fraud and abuse. That's why mega church pastors own private jets, muti-million dollar mansions, and multiple expensive vehicles.
Are you in favor of changing this so that churches are required to report their financial information like non-profits, or do you favor the current 'special favors only for churches' system?