Why are churches tax exempt anyway?

There should be no exemptions or credits for anyone or any business, period

this meme is ill-informed, unfunny, and intolerant.

It wasn't meant to be funny. It was meant to call out the unscrupulous churches, church leaders, and even cults, who take advantage of the system. For some reason, the government seems unwilling to pull the tax exempt status from those "churches". I imagine for fear of looking like they are attacking religion. If we let them all file legitimate write-offs, the phonies would be exposed, and the honorable churches would be just fine. My intolerance is for leaders who scam their parishioners, to enrich themselves, in the name of God.

wow. 83 views. you're really killing it!
congrats! LOL

Yeah, 'cuz I'm like, so, like, totally in it for the likes and stuff (if you read that last sentence with an 80s Valley Girl tone, you will better get the intention of it). I do this for the shallow external validation from complete strangers on the internet. I'm not at all just trying to spread any ideas that might spark some intelligent conversations, and maybe even a bit of critical thinking. And of course, I wouldn't have posted it anywhere other than here.

I notice you didn't address anything I said though. Do you disagree?

what part of "ill-informed, unfunny, and intolerant" don't you understand?

At this point, you seem to be paying far too much attention to me. Feels borderline stalkerish, and you aren't really contributing anything to the conversation. You're not responding to any of the things I've actually said, and just repeating yourself. I've been in this kind of relationship before, so I know better than to continue. I won't be reading any more of your comments, and therefore won't be replying to any of them. I hope you take this honest reply to heart in all your relationships going forward. Wishing you the best, even though it's just not doing it for me. 7uo5o7.jpg (click to show)

wow... you're a psycho... awesome!
thanks for showing us your true psycho colors... we LOVE IT! LOL

The bigger question is why are you and I not tax exempt.

Actually, about 50% of Americans pay ZERO tax.

Nobody pays ZERO tax. We all pay sales tax, and gas tax, and property tax. People below the poverty line get their federal tax money back (minus deductions for social security, Medicare & unemployment) at the end of the year. Which they inevitably spend, feeding the economy, mostly the local economy.

Income tax is what you were meant in regards to churches.

Yes. But, I was addressing what you said about Americans paying taxes. But, churches are also exempt from paying property taxes. Quick Google search found this:
"Are churches exempt from having to pay taxes? The short answer is "yes." For purposes of U.S. tax law, churches are considered to be public charities, also known as Section 501(c)(3) organizations. As such, they are generally exempt from federal, state, and local income and property taxes."
Again, any church that is genuinely acting as a charity, would still get their tax exemptions. The con artists, getting rich off their parishioners, would get exposed. All for that!

So you want to tax the Red Cross also?

The Red Cross is not a church.
And I just think there are too many churches that give religion a bad name, and shouldn't be tax exempt. Especially the cults that call themselves churches. The legitimate churches would be fine. The con artists who enrich themselves on the backs of their parishioners, would be exposed. I'm all for that.