Why don’t churches pay taxes?
Continuing their LA Times series discussing issues pertaining to the ADF Pulpit Initiative, ADF Attorney Erik Stanley and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State respond to the question, “Why don’t churches pay taxes?”
Erik writes: “There is said to be an old Arabian proverb: ‘If the camel once gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow.’ This expression is especially pertinent in the tax exemption context. Churches are tax exempt under the principle that there is no surer way to destroy the free exercise of religion than to tax it.”
Barry writes: “I do concur with you, Erik, that the power to tax does have the potential power to destroy. However, I see no evidence that restricting the ability of a pastor to convert his church into a political action committee is intended to cause, or has caused, the destruction of religious enterprises.”
Related:
LA Times: Do tax laws gag the clergy?
Alliance Alert, 9.23.2008
Tax exemption for churches: constitutional right or IRS gift?
Alliance Alert, 9.22.2008