Actscelerate.com

caseyleejones

If Beto gets his way....taxing churches ....is that all bad?

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11796 **10/12/19 12:47 pm**

Please don't hate. But....churches enjoying being tax free is a good thing for christians because more money can be used for the gospel. Those churches with nicer buildings would be hit.

But, for the longest time, the govt truly did stifle and limited speech in churches in exchange of being tax exempt. Trump has relaxed those expectations but they will likely will be reinstated post-Trump.

Does the bad outweigh the good here?...ie...would it be better for churches to not be ham-strung by the govt?

diakoneo

Re: If Beto gets his way....taxing churches ....is that all bad?

Golf Cart Mafia Consigliere Posts: 3382 **10/12/19 3:11 pm**

UncleJD

Golf Cart Mafia Consigliere Posts: 3145 **10/12/19 4:42 pm**

amen to ^ Taxation is the government's tool for control. That is what I was taught in Public School high school government. Separation of Church and State is already severely under threat, taxing churches would complete the merger. Besides all of that, the REASON he's giving should be the most concerning part of all of this. He wants to tax churches as a means to CONTROL the message. Do you think it would stop with gay marriage? It would eventually be a prescriptive and state-approved list of sermons.

Its funny that in just one election cycle we've gone from the 2 main things that most conservatives were scoffed at for saying "they want to take our guns, and they want to tell us what to preach", to EXACTLY that, bold-faced and in the open!

Dean Steenburgh

Golf Cart Mafia Capo Famiglia Posts: 4682 **10/12/19 6:20 pm**

IMO ...any tax is a bad tax!
Especially for churches!
_________________
"Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!"

Email me at: SteenburghDean@gmail.com

Church planters are focused on just one thing ...introducing people to Jesus!
What are you focused on?

Dave Dorsey

[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 13654 **10/12/19 6:51 pm**

I would be really concerned about this happening. I think, for the most part, huge churches and ministries would be fine. Kenneth Copeland as a $6m "parsonage", but he's worth almost $1b and surely would not be put out by having to pay property taxes.

Huge megachurches that have grown and become popular through preaching a softened, attractional gospel would probably not suffer either. I realize this does not describe all large churches, but it does describe many. Either way, they would not suffer much.

But a Church of God that faithfully preaches the true gospel to a group of 100 would be devastated.

brotherjames

In NC

Acts-celerater Posts: 935 **10/12/19 9:52 pm**

we already have taxation. Property not actually used in the propagation of the Gospel is taxed. For example, if your church sits on 15 acres of land but your church footprint of buildings and parking lots only is 5 acres you would be taxed on the remaining 10 acres unless you can prove it is being "used in the ministry" or you get creative with buffer zones, prayer trails etc. In addition, while churches are tax exempt from sales tax you dont get the exemption each time you buy something. No, you have to keep all your receipts and file for a refund twice a year of all your paid taxes. Good luck keeping all those receipts and the state knows it too. There are so many churches in NC that the state has gone active over time going after church land to tax. And this from a Republican legislature.

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24282 **10/12/19 10:00 pm**

Cojak

Re: In NC

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24282 **10/12/19 10:03 pm**

Link

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **10/15/19 6:11 pm**

We can just give each other personal gifts.
_________________
Link