As we all know, many religions exert huge power over the majority of countries in the world. They like to have their say on homosexuality and gay marriage legislations, abortion laws, what should and shouldnt be taught in school (to mention just a few examples), but why do we allow them to actually have a say that counts, when they on the most part, they dont contribute anything of monetary value to our countries.
I used to work at an accountancy firm and became all too aware of the tax exemptions religions institutions were able to take advantage of, on the grounds that they were a religious institution.
Surely though, if they are so interested in politics and policies, they should have to pay the same admission fees as every body else. Tax them.
I tell you what, taxing the Catholic churches real estate alone would most likely wipe out this countries debt in one foul swoop! It would do a hell of a lot better than a thousand hands clasped in prayer!
I dont believe in giving religious organisations money, they certainly have enough already. I can truthfully say that I have never actually witnessed a religious organisation giving anyone else any money. Have you? They claim to help the poor, whilst sitting in their pompous cathedrals, temples and shrines, whilst the poor and impoverished remain so. If they really cared about helping the less fortunate, wouldnt they voluntarily sell land they own? Sell buildings they own? Wouldnt the Vatican open up its archives for all to benefit from?
There are religious charities, but again, from my time at an accountancy firm, most religious charities (unfortunately, most charities in general) have a trading subsidiary attached to it for tax purposes, (i.e. have any assets that arent covered by annual exemptions classed under the trading subsidiary, and then pass the profits back up to the charity, mainly to pay staff)! Its also good to point out at this juncture some of the salaries the Chief Executives take from from charity, (e.g. British and Foreign Bible Society £56,004, Christian Aid £51,406, Christian Vision £45,000, Church Mission Society £35,024...). If theyre going to take your hard earned money to pay themselves, I would like to take advantage of employers benefits please J
Sure, there are individual religious folk who do what little they can to help the less fortunate, but what Im talking about here is the actual institutions themselves as a whole doing something for the greater good, even though it might mean them loosing some of their own wealth. So as per examples mentioned above, selling land to feed the poor, selling some of their buildings to fund education in third world countries, opening up archives for scholars to marvel at, paying tax to wipe out national debt...why do they not do any of this? If you do know of nay examples, please let me know.
What are your views on this?
Do you agree that religion should be taxed on some level (i.e. on land, income etc...)?
I used to work at an accountancy firm and became all too aware of the tax exemptions religions institutions were able to take advantage of, on the grounds that they were a religious institution.
Surely though, if they are so interested in politics and policies, they should have to pay the same admission fees as every body else. Tax them.
I tell you what, taxing the Catholic churches real estate alone would most likely wipe out this countries debt in one foul swoop! It would do a hell of a lot better than a thousand hands clasped in prayer!
I dont believe in giving religious organisations money, they certainly have enough already. I can truthfully say that I have never actually witnessed a religious organisation giving anyone else any money. Have you? They claim to help the poor, whilst sitting in their pompous cathedrals, temples and shrines, whilst the poor and impoverished remain so. If they really cared about helping the less fortunate, wouldnt they voluntarily sell land they own? Sell buildings they own? Wouldnt the Vatican open up its archives for all to benefit from?
There are religious charities, but again, from my time at an accountancy firm, most religious charities (unfortunately, most charities in general) have a trading subsidiary attached to it for tax purposes, (i.e. have any assets that arent covered by annual exemptions classed under the trading subsidiary, and then pass the profits back up to the charity, mainly to pay staff)! Its also good to point out at this juncture some of the salaries the Chief Executives take from from charity, (e.g. British and Foreign Bible Society £56,004, Christian Aid £51,406, Christian Vision £45,000, Church Mission Society £35,024...). If theyre going to take your hard earned money to pay themselves, I would like to take advantage of employers benefits please J
Sure, there are individual religious folk who do what little they can to help the less fortunate, but what Im talking about here is the actual institutions themselves as a whole doing something for the greater good, even though it might mean them loosing some of their own wealth. So as per examples mentioned above, selling land to feed the poor, selling some of their buildings to fund education in third world countries, opening up archives for scholars to marvel at, paying tax to wipe out national debt...why do they not do any of this? If you do know of nay examples, please let me know.
What are your views on this?
Do you agree that religion should be taxed on some level (i.e. on land, income etc...)?
