“I had to go on TV with the president of the Catholic League, which is not an official organization at all, just a lot of Catholics, or maybe it's just this guy. He demanded to de-fund art completely and argued that taxpayers should not pay for it. I said people who represent the Catholic Church shouldn't talk about taxes.” PeopleShouldArtSaidGuyPresidentChurchPayTvsGoes OnTaxesOrganizationCatholicLeagueOfficialsFundThis GuyTaxpayersCatholic Church Author:Fran Lebowitz
“What government supports, government controls. This is an ancient axiom repeatedly ratified by experience. . . . Indeed, as is well known, acceptance of tax aid has led to the secularization of many church-related colleges and universities.” WellsStatesGovernmentChurchKnownSupportAcceptanceCollegeTaxesUniversityAncientAidsRelatedWell KnownAxiomsColleges And Universities Book:Church schools & public money: the politics of parochiaid Source: Church schools & public money: the politics of parochiaid
“Churches are tax exempt because they are supposed to provide a public good. To prove that good to the IRS, churches arent supposed to hoard their money. They are supposed to spend it on goods and services for the faithful. Under this pretense, the church has made massive investments in tax free real estate all over the world. And when it comes to labor costs, they are almost free.” WorldMadeRealChurchCostProveTaxesLaborInvestmentFaithfulMassiveGoodsEstatesPretenseIrsPublic GoodGoods And Services Author:Lawrence Wright
“I did not worry about what a man or woman personally believed, but the nation's official religion should be outwardly practiced by all its citizens. A religion was a political statement. Being a Calvinist, a papist, a Presbyterian, an Anglican labeled a person's philosophy on education, taxes, poor relief, and other secular things. The nation needed an accepted position on such concerns. Hence the fines for not outwardly conforming to the national church.” MenShouldPersonsPhilosophyPoliticalNationsChurchPoorWorryPositionFineNeededCitizensTaxesConcernAcceptedStatementsOfficialsReliefSecularConformPresbyterians Book:Elizabeth I Source: Elizabeth I
“Why should an atheist pay more taxes so that a church which he despises should pay no taxes? That's a fair question. How can the apologists for the church exemption answer it?” ShouldChurchAnswersPayTaxesFairsAtheistDespiseExemption Author:E. Haldeman-Julius
“John Marshall's warning that the power to tax is the power to destroy has taken on far greater meaning... more specifically, the power of the Internal Revenue Service is threatening to destroy the freedom of religion , guaranteed by the First Amendment. As part of that guarantee, Congress has granted tax exemptions for churches to avoid excessive interference in their religious activities.” FirstsChristianChurchReligiousTakenGreaterActivityTaxesCongressGrantedGuaranteesInternalsWarningAmendmentsThreateningRevenueFirst AmendmentInterferenceFreedom Of ReligionExemption Author:Chuck Grassley
“Christians today are forced to support, with their tax money, the establishment of another religious faith that stands opposed to everything they believe. The new state church has taken the form of the public school.” BelieveStatesTodaySchoolChristianFormChurchReligiousSupportTakenTaxesEstablishmentPublic SchoolReligious Faith Author:Benjamin Hart
“What James Madison and the other men of his generation had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment was that there should be no official relationship of any character between government and any church or many churches, and no levying of taxes for the support of any church, or many churches, or all churches, or any institution conducted by any of them.” MenShouldMindFirstsCharacterGovernmentChurchSupportGenerationsAtheismTaxesInstitutionsPositive AtheismOfficialsAmendmentsFirst AmendmentMadison Author:Sam Ervin
“I believe in a wall between church and state so high that no one can climb over it. When religion controls government, political liberty dies; and when government controls religion, religious liberty perishes. Every American has the constitutional right not to be taxed or have his tax money expended for the establishment of religion. For too long the issue of government aid to church related organizations has been a divisive force in our society and in the Congress. It has erected communication barriers among our religions and fostered intolerance.” BelieveLongHas BeensStatesGovernmentPoliticalDiesForceI BelieveChurchReligiousLibertyIssuesAtheismCommunicationWallTaxesOrganizationCongressI Believe InAidsRelatedClimbsOur SocietyBarriersOver ItEstablishmentIntoleranceChurch And StateReligious LibertyGovernment Aid Author:Sam Ervin
“We do it all the time, we legislate taste. We do it with the tax code. Churches and children get a tax break, because it's assumed that we all agree that we want to encourage churches and children. I don't. I don't. That's my opinion. I don't want to encourage either churches or children, and it's a very bad idea to put them together.” WantChildrenIdeasTogetherChurchOpinionBreakTasteTaxesAgreeCodeBad IdeasTax Breaks Author:Bill Maher
“I'll give you a simple formula for straightening out the problems of the United States. First, you tax the churches. You take the tax off of capital gains and the tax off of savings. You decriminalize all and tax them same way as you do alcohol. You decriminalize . You make gambling legal. That will put the budget back on the road to recovery, and you'll have plenty of tax revenue coming in for all of your social programs, and to run the army.” WayGivingFirstsStatesProblemRunningSocialChurchSimpleUnitedUnited StatesTaxesGainsProgramArmyAlcoholRecoverySavingPlentyBudgetsGamblingFormulasRevenueSavingsCapital GainsSocial Programs Author:Frank Zappa
“The churches rose to power on the income from tax-free property. What earthly -or heavenly- right have they got to enjoy a privilege denied to everyone else, even including nonprofit organizations? None! My contention is that with the churches exempted from property taxation, you and I have to pay that much more in taxes to make up for what they're not contributing.” EnjoyChurchPayTaxesOrganizationPropertyRoseIncludingPrivilegeIncomeHeavenlyDeniedTaxationContributingContentionNonprofits Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair
“If this taxation exemptions for Church were rescinded, our property taxes would be substantially lowered, and those who rent houses and apartments would consequently be able to pass along this savings in the form of lowered rents. It could have a profoundly salubrious effect on the entire economy.” IfsWould BeAbleFormHouseChurchEconomyEffectsTaxesPropertySavingApartmentTaxationSavingsExemptionProperty Taxes Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair
“I decided that if nobody else was going to do anything to rectify this colossal inequity in taxation, I'd have to do it myself. So I instituted a suit against the city of Baltimore demanding that the city assessor be specifically ordered to assess the Church for its vast property holdings in the city, and that the city tax collector then be instructed to collect the taxes once the assessment has been made.” IfsHas BeensMadeChurchCitiesTaxesDecidedPropertySuitsTaxationCollectorsAssessmentBaltimoreColossalRectify Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair
“I'd make an educated guess that 20 to 25 percent of the taxable property in the U.S. is Church-owned.In a recent book, Church Wealth and Business Income, it was estimated that this property -all of it tax-exempt -is worth upwards of 80 billion dollars. I know that's a fantastic, unbelievable figure, but there's every reason to believe that it's on the conservative side; and this amount is increasing yearly at a geometric rate.” KnowsBelieveBookReasonSidesChurchWealthFiguresAmountTaxesPercentDollarsPropertyRateConservativeBillionsIncomeEducatedFantasticUnbelievableGeometric Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair
“White people won't give you nothing because in their minds you don't deserve nothing. If the schools close, the hell with that every church should be a school. And then we should take over the schools in our own community that they closed down. Open them up and then make the government give us our tax dollars that we pay for an education that we don't receive.” PeopleGivingMindSchoolCommunityChurchHellTaxesDeserve Author:Louis Farrakhan
“There's a separation of church and state. If you want the perks that churches have traditionally received, then abide by the rules. If you're going to be involved in the political process, even in soft ways, then surrender the privileges. Let ministers pay income tax on all of their income. Let churches pay income tax, let them pay property taxes. They can't have it both ways. You can't pat the politicians on the back, break the rules, and then get all these perks.” PoliticalChurchBreakPoliticianTaxesPropertySeparationSurrenderChurch And StateSeparation Of Church And StateIncome Tax Author:Anthony B Pinn