opinion

Is it time to tax churches?

U.S. churches were granted an official federal tax exemption by the Tariff Act of 1894. All 50 states plus the District of Colombia also exempt churches from property taxes. Donations to churches are also exempt. In 1954 the Johnson amendment banned churches from interfering in political campaigns. In 1983 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this ruling. Yet, voter’s guides and endorsements are commonplace from religious organizations with tax exempt status.

Two churches with huge business and property ownership are the Mormon Church, which operates shopping centers, a real estate company, cattle ranches, radio stations and other businesses, and the Catholic Church, which is the third largest landowner around the globe. In addition, mega churches have palatial edifices as worship centers. Local neighborhood churches are situated on public streets, enjoy fire and police protection, use city sewer and water lines, their ministers even get special tax treatment on their homes.

Is it time for U.S. churches to pay their fair share? Several studies have been done to determine the annual cost of this special treatment to subsidize religion. This is what they found: Between federal and state income taxes, property and investment tax, parsonage and faith-based initiative subsidies, a total of $71 billion per year is lost.

An alternative has surfaced in Germany. Every citizen that is a member of an organized church will be assessed annually a flat 4 percent tax on total income. This past year 400,000 Germans renounced their faith to avoid the tax.