IRS pulls Church Tax Exempt Status
Posted on November 10th, 2005 by catalyst into the Uncategorized categoryWe’ve been discussing taxes and whether pastor’s pay them. (They do.) When I came across this link, of a church that had its tax exempt status pulled for speaking about politics.
Best Quote:
The IRS notified the church of the investigation in a letter that cited an Oct. 31, 2004, sermon by Pastor Regas called “If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush.” Church leaders say they have done nothing wrong.
(So much for free speach.)
For my money, churches should pay taxes, and churches should be free to speak about political candidates.
Of course, if I was given the choice between paying taxes or speaking about politics. I would promptly shut the hell up.
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November 10th, 2005 at 10:17 am
For every post from here on out I will tithe five dollars to CBC in John Paul Mortons name. Specifically to the audio/visual department so more flat screen tvs can be purchased.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:21 am
Does the IRS know about Measure 36?
Maybe they hate the gays too…
November 10th, 2005 at 11:22 am
Anonymous,
Thank you for your kind offer…if you don’t mind I would like you to use my tithing number (527114) so I can claim the offering on my next tax return.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:44 am
It kind of amazes me it’s taken this long for a church to get busted for campaigning. They have a lot to lose with their tax exempt status and some churches just get bolder and bolder with their political involvement. An organization shouldn’t be able to influence representation without contributing some taxation.
I half agree with you, Cat. I think churches should pay taxes (render to Caesar), but should stay out of politics for moral reasons. Politicians today are too crooked and there’s too many opportunities for bribery and corruption of church leaders. I think the President running Supreme court nominees by major church leaders is a great example of the pitfalls of churches in politics. If churches keep a strong emphasis on Biblical values, the congregations will know how to vote without extra prodding.
November 10th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
(Sigh) Not all politicans are crooked. And that’s hardly a reason to oppose churches being involved in politics.
November 10th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
Oh yes it is. Would you agree that the majority of politicians and political are crooked to some degree? Or would you agree that the vast majority of politicians routinely omit, distort, or lie about things to benefit themselves or their causes?
I’m sorry, but I think the possibility of influence peddling outweighs any possible good that could come from churches getting involved with politics. History is littered with the results of church leaders and politicians getting together and very very few of the results are positive. Given that, what about the current political climate would suggest that mix would be a good idea now?
November 10th, 2005 at 3:19 pm
homebusinesses makes more sense that cattle list
November 10th, 2005 at 4:54 pm
Do you guys make money on these lame advertisements
November 10th, 2005 at 8:23 pm
I propose that all public schools lose their tax funding if and when teachers talk about politics or religion. Fair is fair…
November 11th, 2005 at 3:25 am
Anonymous….
Apples and oranges, dude. You’ve basically just eliminated American Government, World History, and a lot of other subjects from the public school curriculum. While I agree that teachers shouldn’t be advocating, or even disclosing their personal political leanings or religious views, it’s important for students to be aware of the broader spectrum of what’s out there…because they probably don’t know for themselves yet, and if they have any awareness, it comes only from their parents’ convictions. Speaking as a graduate of homeschooling, the world is a big place, and knowing only about what your parents believe will prove very disorienting if it lasts all the way to age 18 when suddenly you’re on your own. It’s a recipe for disaster.
As an organization for GROWN-UPS, the church is another story. Politics and religion are an incendiary combination for one, and IMHO, people who go to church for the purpose of finding out what they should think and how they should vote are doing themselves a tremendous disservice. As Fezzik said, if religion does what it claims to do (changing people from the inside out), there’s no reason for churches to address these issues on a blow by blow basis. People will take the principles of their faith and follow them with their actions by the dictates of their consciences.
We all need to cope with the world on our own…and, the potential for corruption aside, allowing churches to tell their constituency how to vote allows people to abdicate their OWN civic duty to inform themselves.
November 11th, 2005 at 8:59 am
What is going on with these lame advertisers!?!?
November 11th, 2005 at 9:00 am
I would agree with you
Cricket if the public schools just taught about politics and religion. But that is a far cry from what they do. The public schools are advocates, pure and simple. And advocates don’t teach, they indoctrinate.
November 11th, 2005 at 9:03 am
Hence the need for school choice, just as their is church choice.
November 11th, 2005 at 10:14 am
The advertising thing is Blogger problem. Some people have created a program that allows them to spam the comment section blogs.
Whatev.
November 11th, 2005 at 3:05 pm
Anonymous,
I think I need a concrete example of the “advocacy” you’re talking about….the abstractions we’re both speaking in make it too easy to disagree without know why exactly. At the moment, I think we’re approximately on the same page, but I’d like to make sure…
November 14th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
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November 16th, 2005 at 11:23 pm
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November 18th, 2005 at 10:00 am
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November 19th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
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November 21st, 2005 at 5:47 pm
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November 27th, 2005 at 3:18 pm
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November 27th, 2005 at 8:50 pm
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December 7th, 2005 at 6:57 am
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