US News

The business of big religion in crosshairs; how much profit can remain tax free?

By Karyn Chenoweth Nov 12, 2007, 16:51 GMT

In the United States of America today, anyone can erect a church and claim a tax-free status. The thousands of churches and religious groups that are treated with enormous deference by politicians and the media are now under the spotlight, and brave people in politics are questioning this status quo.The government bends over backwards to accommodate religious orgainizations. The most egregious example of this are the sweeping tax exemptions granted to religion.It is not just one tax that religious organizations are excused from paying, but an entire group of them. Clergy are exempt from federal taxes on housing and can opt out of Social Security and Medicare withholding. Religious employers are generally exempt from federal and state unemployment taxes, and in some states, religious publications are exempt from sales tax. Church benefit and retirement plans do not require the church employer to match its employees' contributions. Churches are automatically exempted from filing annual public informational reports on their financial status and activities, and donations made to churches are eligible for income tax deductions. Then, there are the two major tax breaks: Church groups do not have to pay income tax and do not have to pay taxes on property which they own.Some in congress and the senate are fighting to end this unfair and unjustifiable special treatment. They cite compelling reasons to tax the mega churches, whose incredible wealth has been shielded by the arcane laws that protect their unfettered wealth.At the moment, the tax-exempt status of a church gives groups a strong incentive to declare themselves to be religious organizations, which inevitably leads to protracted legal battles over whether a given organization is a church or not. (The space alien cult of Scientology's multi-year legal battle with the U.S. government to win tax-exempt status is a case in point.) This policy puts the government in the unenviable position of having to set policy on exactly what constitutes a religion.As part of its tax-exempt status, a recognized church may not endorse candidates from the pulpit. However, it can speak out without restriction on issues, a loophole large enough to drive a truck through, and one which has been exploited to the hilt by church groups of every political faction. Any church leader can figure out how to use this as a backdoor strategy to make it clear which candidate his parishioners are expected to vote for.More and more people are demanding the elimination of the tax-exempt status of churches - if churches paid taxes like any other group, there would be no reason for anyone to fight over whether a particular group is "religious enough" to constitute a church or not, and no reason for anyone to affect that status as a tax strategy. If these mega and smaller churches endorse candidates via the ludicrous loophole that currently allows them to do so - they might as well pay taxes for the privilege like everyone else.Repealing churches' tax exemption threatens no one's freedom of religion. The freedom to practice religion that is guaranteed by the First Amendment does not mean that a religious group has an absolute right to take any property they want for their own use. Church taxation is the same. If a religious group could not afford to pay taxes on property that they owned, this does not mean that this group has been prevented from practicing its religion; it means that the group must seek out a new location to do so, one within their means.A poor church can always worship and hold services on public property, such as a park, or in their individual members' residences. Even in such a case, no one's freedom of religion has been infringed in any way. The only "right" that is threatened by church taxation is the imaginary right of a religious group to do anything they want just because they are "religious."Other non-profits like charities and educational institutions serve all people equally. However, churches do not. They are free to discriminate, and do discriminate, by decree of "ministerial exemption."A New York Times article, "Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights", gives more information on the liberties given to churches that would never be granted to any other employer. LINKA great number of church leaders enjoy wildly expensive and lavish lifestyles. What is so objectionable about asking these incredibly wealthy groups to pay taxes on the money they take in?The common assertion that churches provide a necessary inducement to morality fails to find support in the evidence: multiple studies have found that nonbelievers are at least as moral as religious people.In "The God Delusion", author Richard Dawkins discusses a study which found that there was no statistically significant difference between the answers of atheists and the answers of religious people to a variety of moral dilemmas. LINKAll we have to do is look at the history of fallen preachers, their sex and money scandals that continue to light up the news. Oral Roberts University is a recent example of this.We, as tax payers, pick up the burden of their unfettered wealth. Churches do not pay taxes on the assets they own, all the rest of us must pay higher taxes to make up for that lost revenue. The most visible of the megachurch wealth lies with the Christian televangelists, who are richer than ever.They rake in millions in donations.The Rev. Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church International in College Park alone took in $69 million in 2006, according to a brief report his church showed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Dollar said he is releasing some information about his and his church's finances in light of the probe of a powerful senator into Dollar's and other ministries' finances."I generally don't make this public," Dollar said. "I have signed million-dollar deals for books," Dollar said.The church did give him a Rolls-Royce, he added, which is used largely for special occasions and for picking up special guests.It is the expensive cars, private jets, million-dollar homes, jewelry and bevy of businesses associated with six evangelists' media empires that got the attention of Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.Grassley asked last week for financial records from Dollar and his wife, Taffi, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Randy and Paula White of Florida, the Rev. Benny Hinn and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Texas and David and Joyce Meyer of Missouri.Grassley says he believes televangelists receive billions in donations each year. But he is not sure because the law protects these corporate media behemoth churches who don't have to make their finances public like most nonprofits and charities.But Grassley said his probe has nothing to do with religion."I'm not interested in doctrine, just the tax laws," Grassley said.He has looked at the ridiculously lavish lives of TV ministers all enabled by the laws that shield these groups from scrutiny.The ministries in question have bought "Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, corporate jets and now $23,000 for a marble-topped commode," Grassley said."The public's tolerance really gets tested by these examples of excess. People wonder how society is being served when money doesn't seem to matter."Dollar said he understands the senator's worries but is concerned at the same time about the government sticking its nose into religion's business. Dollar said he is having legal experts look over the senator's request.Dollar is particularly concerned the government may be trying to divine what people can or cannot believe. And Dollar believes in "prosperity."The six religious broadcast empires under the gun all preach and teach forms of a gospel that justifies the accumulation of money and material goods as one sign of God's blessing. It includes benefits like health, a good family life and benevolence toward others.It is an American-born faith that mixes Christianity with capitalism, individualism and materialism, said Shayne Lee, a Tulane University sociologist who studies megachurches and religion, to the Atlanta Journal.It became popular in the 1980s, with Reaganism, a rising stock market, growing middle class and consumerism."It's a perfect culture for it. Americans want wealth. And the prosperity gospel allows people who are seeking wealth to have a spiritual justification for it," Lee said.Preacher Dollar claims that the patriarchs were rich, and that before that Jesus was rich. After all, Jesus had a treasurer (one of his disciples, according to the New Testament), and wore clothes worth enough that the soldiers who crucified him gambled to see who got them."Without a doubt, my life is not average," Dollar said. "But I'd like to say, just because it is excessive doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.""The issue is, what route did you use to get that excess?" he said.His route was money that he earned, Dollar said."When I want a nice car, I use my own money to get the nice car and not the money of the church," Dollar said on CNN last week."My lifestyle does not come out of the church's bank account." Dollar added his lavish life was paid for by "gifts" from his faithful flock. Untaxed ones at that.

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none!Nov 12th, 2007 - 17:40:27

none of it should be exempt from taxes. why should religion be exempt? i think i'm going to go make my own church group and not pay taxes anymore...it's about time they stopped getting a free ride. make them pay property taxes too, that way the overgrown field of weeds down the street from me belonging to the church might actually be built into a playground or something useful if they want to remain tax free. enough of this!

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ParkerNov 12th, 2007 - 19:08:41

Churches shouldn't be exempt from taxes and get a free ride. There are too many contraversial so-called houses of worship, and too many churches started by evangalists that have grown into mega, rich churches whose organizers make millions. Does attending a huge building like the Crystal Cathedral in California make you any better person than people gathered together in a nondiscript place to worship? We don't need 'status-symbol' churches!!

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RosaNov 12th, 2007 - 23:07:20

It is interesting to note that Jesse Jackson has never filed a tax return.

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TerryeoNov 12th, 2007 - 23:13:00

Grassley said his probe has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with taxes. But Grassley is one of the Congresspersons whose job it is to create laws that establish and guide the IRS, in the use of tax law. Grassley is acting as a policeman, attempting to walk the beat for the patrolman (the IRS), seeking through vast amounts of information to squeeze the boil and pop out a tax offender. Better Grassley should do the job he was elected to, and allow the IRS perform the job Grassley and other Congresspersons have laid out. Don't you think?

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no... idiotNov 13th, 2007 - 00:49:08

The IRS has their hands full and cannot do the work needed to check these Christ-y criminals.
God bless Grassley1!!!!

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Milton MartinezNov 13th, 2007 - 15:27:10

Just as tax laws protect those that are least able to pay them; those least able to pay should be given special favor. Then by all means tax those churches that are capable of paying including the ministers. The Apostle Paul made tents to support himself. Ministers shouldn't live off the backs of their working parishioners and if they do, why isn't it treated as income?

Member of a small church with working ministers.

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brothermichaelNov 14th, 2007 - 06:23:13

Open your wallet and pull out that piece of paper that so many
worship as their god. Give unto Washington what is Washington's.
When 'all books are opened' during the coming chaos and confusion the 'church' better pass the inspection or it's leadership will all be raptured! ... to the dry arid place that is, where they spend their days lieing to each other in white robes and not thirst as they are provided
with plenty of water and bread. They will be gathered together in one place, nearly one hundred fifty thousand.

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dominickJul 27th, 2008 - 22:54:38

What is the real issue here? Every penny that comes from a donation should be returned to the people of the church's that they attend in one form or another. The pastor's that take advantage of practitioners should be delt with by the government as con artist. We humans have no idea what the true nature of God is. Those that worship the God that is in any religion in the world today are being mis-lead. We all know the truth, but the simple answer is'nt enough, we look to books or people to guide us, when all we have to do is look inside ourselves and ask God to guide us.God is the creator of all things, do you really believe that it want's our materlistic things as a sign of worship? As I understand christianity, Jesus was the last sacrafice that we had to pay for our so called original sin. Those that attend church should not be asked to donate (sacrafice) 10% of their income to pay for these church leaders lifestyle's.

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AllenSep 30th, 2008 - 15:20:49

Since the religions of the world seem to hold all the wealth I say go to them to bail out the economy.

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Gary HollandMar 11th, 2009 - 11:09:15

The subject of this article is an unfortunate symptom of living in a free society. It is a common practice of Islamic countries that supposedly protect the freedom of worship of all religions (Algeria, Egypt, Malaysia etc) to suppress the practice of non- Islamic religions via existing tax and planning laws.

In the UK anti-terror, hate speech and even anti-truancy laws are being used to intimidate believers of all faiths (including Christians) who do not subscribe to the code of morality that the ruling party is trying to force upon society. Under the guise of opposing hate the British public have lost many of their cherished freedoms and now live in a society that has added “thought crimes” to its jurisprudence. The message is watch out - your freedoms can be swiftly stolen from you in the name of addressing an apparent wrong.

In the USA you have large criminal syndicates who accumulate vast wealth through illegal practices and violence yet they walk your streets freely and revel in their public notoriety. Their existence is testament to the unintended consequence of the right to a fair trial. Criminal gangs that plunder and murder at will and require a country to spend billions on law enforcement to try contain their activities are a far greater cause of outrage than a few peddlers of snake oil. Shall we therefore revoke the right that they abuse?

In Italy Mussolini did and it worked. His law enforcement agencies smashed the mafia by jailing and or executing everyone who was suspected of being a mafioso. Italy was a lot safer under Mussolini than it is now but is that the type of society we want to live in?

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