We Must Revoke the Tax Exempt Status of Churches

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Let's tax the churches! All of them, in a non discriminatory way that doesn't consider faith or level of political engagement. In our nation, there are often calls for the federal government to revoke the tax exempt status of churches. The most common arguments made for taxing churches are that exemptions deny the government important sources of revenue to pay its bills, and that many churches abuse their tax exempt status by violating IRS guidelines that prohibit them from engaging in political activity (Cavalli, Dimitri). Other arguments debate whether exemptions constitute to subsidizing religion and if exemptions violate the separation of church and state.
While the desire to tax churches is not new, the issue of religious tax preference is especially relevant now because the number of Americans living outside any religious traditions continues to grow. Is it fair to tax all Americans to subsidize religious institutions that only some Americans use?

In the United States, churches received an official tax exemption in 1894, and they have been unofficially tax exempt since the country's founding. All 50 states and the District of Columbia exempt churches from paying property tax (Churches and Taxes-procon.org). The tax exemption for churches can be traced back to the Roman Empire, when Constantine granted the Christian church a complete exemption from all forms of taxation following his conversion to Christianity (Churches and Taxes-procon.org). Church property used for religious purposes was also tax exempt in mid evil England, based on the rationale that the church relieved the state of some governmental functions and therefore deserved to benefit in return. The English statute of charitable uses formed the basis of Ameri...

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...re Churches Making America Poor?" Newsweek. N.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Beres, Derek. "Tax The Churches." Big Think. N.p., 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
Cavalli, Dimitri. "The Church, Nonprofits, and Taxes." Catholic World Report. N.p., 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
"Churches and Taxes - Churches and Taxes-Churches and Taxes-procon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Matthews, Dylan. "You Give Religions More than $82.5 Billion a Year." Washingtonpost.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Rowe, Richard. "U.S. District Court Judge Rules Religious Tax Exemption Unconstitutional!" Americans Against the Tea Party. N.p., 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Stanhouse. "Churches Are Tax Exempt as a Matter of Constitutional Right." OpposingViews.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Taxthechurches.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

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