Should the church be subject to tax?

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Aref H4

Section 6, Article 2 of the Philippine Constitution provides that "The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable."

While some countries in Europe have what we call "church tax", the Philippines is reared under American legal orientation, and research on the subject yield the following rationale:

"For every dollar which the government cannot collect on church property, it must make up for by collecting it from citizens; thus all citizens are forced to indirectly support churches, even those they do not belong to and may even oppose.

Unfortunately, this indirect violation of the separation of church and state may be necessary in order to avoid a very direct violation of the free exercise of religion. The taxation of church property would put churches more directly at the mercy of the government because the power to tax is, in the long run, the power to control or even destroy.

By removing church property from the power of the state to tax, church property is also removed from the power of the state to directly interfere with. Thus, a hostile government would find it more difficult to interfere with an unpopular or minority religious group."

Magwawali

Why not? I have always said they should. (itnoJ)

yusdz

Do U 1 the history to repeat? the secret behind the Dark Ages in Europe is because of churches were not subject to tax but they are liable to levy taxes.

maej

nope!

the church earns from what we gave them. and we pay our taxes, that would be double-taxes paid.

God said to give Him the tenth of our income and that's what we should do.

Isaac

Sure, of course you should also allow them to deduct charitable contributions. So, this would force the Church to give back to the poor and needy.. Wait a second, they already do this! So, why bother taxing an entity that will end up paying no tax since they give so much back to the world....

Taxing Chuches is just silly.

Quiet Curiosity 1970

Why is this question listed in "travel?"

Contrary to popular belief, most churches exist on a shoestring budget. Only a small percent of churches really build any real amount of equity.

Pertaining to the salary of ministers, the scale ranges from literally "nothing" to "you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me large." Most ministers live between the levels of poverty and lower-middle-class.

I have no problem taxing the minister's salary, which is currently practiced by the IRS. However, if you tax the money flowing through the church by donations, then several horrible things will happen. Substantially less money will go for community projects. Unless you are directly involved in these programs, (volunteer or recipient), you probably do not recognize the enormous positive impact they on all society. This is why the government does not tax nonprofit organizations. They generally give all gains back to the community in one form or another in a means much more effective than government programs.

If you tax churches, this will severely discourage Americans from giving to nonprofit structures all together; Red Cross, Race for the Cure, etc.

If you are insinuating that the salary of a few church staff members are questionable, I can understand your concern. However, please be just as critical of the salaries of executives of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, NAACP, etc.

Pink B

Jesus said to be a follower you need to sell all your worldly possessions. So a tax on nothing is nothing.

minus

I think they should be taxed on income just as any other business is. Most of them are profit earning businesses.

grumpyoldman

No, because the money is used for the church only. And it is all donations. If someone gives you money, do you want it taxed?

theonethatgotaway

there should be no exemption
tax them

Crazeddoglady

Absolutely

dave i am

Yes, They own retail stores around the Philippines and a Hotel (gotta check my facts first with the hotel)

dyelai

yes.

annabelle p

They should be...they can afford it. Why spare them the responsibility of paying taxes when they get revenues from their collection from KBL (kasal, binyag and libing)? They, too, enjoy the privileges of the country the same as the ordinary citizens but the burden solely falls into the weary shoulders of Juan dela Cruz.

eeoy

no, but they should be held accountable to reinvest into the community like non-profit organizations.

Bitter Guy

They are filthy rich! Tax them please!

engrenan

It:s about time that all clergies be subject to tax with respect to their income. How can you imagine the priest stipend for one mass is about 1000 pesos, in just less than 1 hour.

You can see the lifestyle of Filipino priest, they easily get brand new car of their own for a very short period of time.. The parish is giving them their monthly allowance more than enough for a budget of one person. Aside from that, they are accepting financial gifts from the parishioners.

Since they are participating in our political problem, it is but natural to require them to pay their obligations and be fair and true to their services. How will you consider a vocation accepting too much money, or can I say that it is already a profession. A better profession indeed, because you are given assurance of good compensation once you are ordained.

The priest, bishops and all clergies should surrender themselves also. How many privileges given to them by the government for a very long period of time. People in the squatter areas are sharing their profit thru taxes. Why don't we try to implement this to the clergies.

What do you think?

MSV

Please tax them! They love mindling into politics, so what better way to contribute to society than pay their fair share!

Also, people will say they help by volunteering, well I volunteer on my spare time too, you don't see my asking for a handout. That is why its called volunteering... because you're doing something for free without benefit.

la_ciudadista

yes but not regular income tax and property tax.
perhaps 1-5% in property taxes would be equitable.

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