31–40 of 335 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The state is giving them special treatment. No it's not. All non-profits are untaxed. If you are going to charge churches, then charge all non-profits. Personally I think that's a bad policy.
Many churches are not non-profits. In fact they have quite big profits.
Makes sense to me, and should be done in the US as well. Providing a tax exemption is in a way the opposite of a separation of church and state. The state is giving them special treatment.
Charity organisations usually get tax exemptions too. Maybe make that the only tax exemption, and have religious organisations prove that they are charities.
Most jurisdictions which inherited English common law, have maintained the classification of "advancement of religion" as a charitable end. To give just one example, look at how the IRS defines "charity" in the US [2]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_trusts_in_English_l...
[2] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-purpose...
Makes sense to me, and should be done in the US as well. Providing a tax exemption is in a way the opposite of a separation of church and state. The state is giving them special treatment.
> The state is giving them special treatment. No it's not. All non-profits are untaxed. If you are going to charge churches, then charge all non-profits. Personally I think that's a bad policy.
I don't think religious institutions have to pay property taxes.
Ok, I looked it up: “states subsidize religions to the tune of about $26.2 billion per year by not requiring religious institutions to pay property taxes for property worth about $600 billion. This subsidy is of particular interest because property taxes pay for services such as firefighting and police, which religious institutions use the same as corporations and private citizens.”
I suffered conversion therapy and could never get on hormone blockers young; because of the nonsense faith results in from people with authority over administering a medical treatment. As an adult I'm now trying every year to afford surgeries I cannot afford while my peers save for homes. Also parents disowned me and I have ptsd from the physical & mental abuse.
Nice to see religion coming to an end before my shorter life from it. Of course it will out last me but I'm hopeful; as the younger generation is aware of the countless injustice while malevolent people attempt to disguise religion as what the "community" needs.
The facade known as religion should rot to nothingness with all the people that forced it upon others.
edit: Yah religious patrons don't like it when victims of religion speak out. Similar you all don't ever remedy the victims of what you support exist in this cruel world because of people like you.
This article was published in 2017. Have there been any more recent developments?
Makes sense to me, and should be done in the US as well. Providing a tax exemption is in a way the opposite of a separation of church and state. The state is giving them special treatment.
Charity organisations usually get tax exemptions too. Maybe make that the only tax exemption, and have religious organisations prove that they are charities.
Churches get a bad rap these days, for many reasons. I want to take a minute to defend them. Right away, I want to say that I am not defending religion-driven bigotry, nor megachurches, nor abuse. I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S. churches are still where communities meet, where people connect with the spiritual world, and also the ones doing most of the "heavy lifting" on any kind of charity activity. They…
In the USA, this is quickly becoming an obsolete understanding of religion. Regular church attendance is down from 70% to just over 50% in the last 20 years, according to Gallup.
People are leaving the churches. The real question is what will replace them. If people need community, build community centers. There are other solutions that do not rely on continuing to provide tax exemptions to organizations that more and more people are fleeing.
Churches get a bad rap these days, for many reasons. I want to take a minute to defend them. Right away, I want to say that I am not defending religion-driven bigotry, nor megachurches, nor abuse. I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S. churches are still where communities meet, where people connect with the spiritual world, and also the ones doing most of the "heavy lifting" on any kind of charity activity. They…
That's presumably because the US is so Christian. In other countries there are plenty of non-Christian charities. In general people aren't good because religion tells them to be.
As a Hindu and as a victim of Church sanctioned violence in Portuguese colonies I am no fan of Church, and yet I do not think it makes any sense to tax a charitable organization just because it is religious in nature.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, it's obvious that a religion gets special treatment over say a club and it is unneeded.
How about tax exemptions for clubs too. If it's a group of people pooling money for non commercial activities why should that be taxed?