religious institutions and government

[Sisyphus]

So why don't they pay property taxes? Not that you could ever ever ever do away with the arrangement in a hundred years, but do any of you actually think this is right?

[ecoli]

yes. Separation of church and state. We don't the church to get involved in government any more than we want government to get invovled in church.

[GutZ]

Is the church consider a non-profit organization, and are property taxes exempted for those organizations in the US?

[Sisyphus]

They are treated much the same as non-profit charitable organizations, but don't actually even have to do any charitable work to qualify. Also, charities still have to file for taxes, but the government is not allowed to even ask any religious institution about its finances.

[Jim]

So why don't they pay property taxes? Not that you could ever ever ever do away with the arrangement in a hundred years, but do any of you actually think this is right?

 

I believe the idea is that the power to tax is the power to destroy so this is a power government does not have over religion. I'd have to think about this quite a bit more, and research the history, before coming to a conclusion. My gut reaction is that they should pay property and income taxes.