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The religious right's hypocrisy now on full display

ImTheCaptain said:
sure they can, if a specific Presbyterian church was selling children as sex slaves in the name of god the government would intervene
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Would they? The Catholic Church has been running a tax-exempt child abuse ring for hundreds of years.
 
Junebug said:
The government can’t discriminate against a religion because it (the government) doesn’t like the content of its (the religion’s) beliefs. That violates the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses, at least. The concept of discrimination includes the withholding of benefits that would otherwise be granted, so removing a church’s tax exemption based on the content of its doctrine plainly violates the constitution.
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Yeah Beto’s proposal is blatantly unconstitutional.
 
I agree with junebug here. If you want to take tax exempt status away from all religious organizations, go for it. But targeting organization with specific distasteful practices/beliefs you’re in unequal protection territory.
 
Yeah, it's textbook unconstitutional discrimination. Like "Con Law day 1 hypothetical just to demonstrate an extreme example of unconstitutional" textbook.
 
If you want to be "strict", where in the Constitution dopes it say religious groups are entitled to being tax exempt?
 
Junebug said:
That isn’t discrimination on the basis of religion. It’s discrimination on the basis of child protection, which would clearly be legal.

If you tried to reframe revocation of tax exemption of organizations that refuse to perform same sex marriages as protection of homosexuals, and even if a court accepted that as a descriptive matter (good luck), there is no chance that would survive strict scrutiny.
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perhaps I do not understand the technical differences between a Church and an associated Organization - but do not individual "churches" file 501c3's when formed? How can one specific entity be shielded when it has a specific reference point vis a vis the government?
 
The IRS doesn’t maintain much (any?) oversight over churches. They’re 501(c)3 organizations but I’m not even sure the churches file additional paperwork on an annual basis related to taxes (or non payment thereof).

I’d prefer they just exercise some oversight and treat churches like any other organization.

I’d also be in favor of churches paying property taxes even if nothing else. There’s no reason that the Catholic Church should be entirely tax exempt they make a shit ton of money as an enterprise. The issue is that it’s difficult to distinguish from a policy perspective between a 25 member local church truly operating as a non-profit and the behemoth that is the Catholic Church.
 
RJKarl said:
If you want to be "strict", where in the Constitution dopes it say religious groups are entitled to being tax exempt?
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You can tax all of them, but you can’t pick and choose based on beliefs you don’t like. No one should want that.
 
RJKarl said:
Beto is a douchebag who is done and needs to go away.
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Wakeforest22890 said:
The IRS doesn’t maintain much (any?) oversight over churches. They’re 501(c)3 organizations but I’m not even sure the churches file additional paperwork on an annual basis related to taxes (or non payment thereof).

I’d prefer they just exercise some oversight and treat churches like any other organization.

I’d also be in favor of churches paying property taxes even if nothing else. There’s no reason that the Catholic Church should be entirely tax exempt they make a shit ton of money as an enterprise. The issue is that it’s difficult to distinguish from a policy perspective between a 25 member local church truly operating as a non-profit and the behemoth that is the Catholic Church.
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I don’t think property taxes are under the purview of the federal government, but I don’t know that for sure. I know Civitas and other organizations like that challenge tax exemptions in NC of nonprofits all the time. Non profits in NC get a rebate on sales tax for example.

Requiring 990s seems like a reasonable burden to me.
 
Evangelicals already have a pretty big asshole of a God, so if that God existed no rational person would want to worship such a douche bag, anointing trump would just be the cherry on top.
 
ImTheCaptain said:
perhaps I do not understand the technical differences between a Church and an associated Organization - but do not individual "churches" file 501c3's when formed? How can one specific entity be shielded when it has a specific reference point vis a vis the government?
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No, churches don't have to file as a 501c3 organization - they are automatically classified as such as long as they adhere to the principles of a 501c3. You can incorporate as a church/religious institution and be exempt from taxes. There are other benefits that you are not eligible, but you can be a tax exempt church without having to file to become a 501c3 or file a 990.

The difference between a church and a religious organization is that a church is primarily a place of worship, administering the rites and rituals of a particular religion, whereas a religious organization is organized around and exists to carry out religious principles.
 
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