City of Houston demands pastors turn over sermons

kaba said:
Lets go to the source.....what does the Constitution say about it?
Click to expand...

Nothing.  It gives the government power of taxation.  And it guarantees free speech. 

You could say that the IRS uses taxes to regulate what people can or cannot say, and IMO that would be true and unconstitutional.  However, the IRS has plausible deniability.  It could simply argue that it isn't taxing people based on what they say, it's allowing people to NOT be taxed based on what they say (or agree not to say). 

 
Just preach the word and let the chips fall where they may.

A common sense approach is to file as a 501c3 and not be taxed. Why line the pockets of a government which would take your tax dollars and forward them to Planned Parenthood?

Christian Colleges have candidates in all of the time. I have yet to hear of one losing their 501c3 status because of it.
 
FSSL said:
A common sense approach is to file as a 501c3 and not be taxed. Why line the pockets of a government which would take your tax dollars and forward them to Planned Parenthood?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure even how the tax laws in Canada work for churches and other non-profits - let alone the States - but I'm curious: what is the tax-paying status of a church that does not incorporate under 501(c)(3)? I know there are some churches that do pay taxes, but am I correct that a church per se is tax-exempt?
 
Ransom said:
FSSL said:
A common sense approach is to file as a 501c3 and not be taxed. Why line the pockets of a government which would take your tax dollars and forward them to Planned Parenthood?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure even how the tax laws in Canada work for churches and other non-profits - let alone the States - but I'm curious: what is the tax-paying status of a church that does not incorporate under 501(c)(3)? I know there are some churches that do pay taxes, but am I correct that a church per se is tax-exempt?
Click to expand...
Ransom, in Canada a church is tax exempt, that is it's "income" is not taxed. Whether or not it's financial contributors are eligible for a tax deduction based upon giving is dependent upon whether the church is a federally registered charity. A church can operate on of three basic ways. 1) Become a provincially registered non-profit society 2) Become a federally registered charity. 3) Become both.

If you register as a non-profit society but not as a charity, you can operate, pay satff, own property etc, but you cannot issue tax receipts. You are however not limited by Revenue Canada's rules in regards to partisan activities and disbursement of funds.
 
FSSL said:
Just preach the word and let the chips fall where they may.

A common sense approach is to file as a 501c3 and not be taxed. Why line the pockets of a government which would take your tax dollars and forward them to Planned Parenthood?

Christian Colleges have candidates in all of the time. I have yet to hear of one losing their 501c3 status because of it.
Click to expand...

Exactly!
Many churches and pastors practice that already. Many churches don't file for 501c3 status but are given such by the IRS anyway. Many churches in a denomination are covered by the denominations' tax status, at least that's how it was back in my Moral Majority days!

Our church is hosting a meeting tonight to train churches in forming Culture Impact Teams in order to respond to this government encroachment on our constitutional rights.
 
ItinerantPreacher said:
Ransom, in Canada a church is tax exempt, that is it's "income" is not taxed. Whether or not it's financial contributors are eligible for a tax deduction based upon giving is dependent upon whether the church is a federally registered charity.
Click to expand...

Good point. I didn't consider the tax-deductibility of my own donations.

(And just so it's clear, I'm perfectly aware that 501(c)(3) is an American law, and I was primarily interested in how American tax law worked in this instance. Is it like Canada in that a church may be automatically exempt, though its donors may not receive deductions on their income taxes?)
 
ChuckBob said:
I heard Houston backed down.
Click to expand...

It appears that the powers that be might have backpedalled somewhat on the reason for the subpoenas, but at least according to Breitbart, they haven't rescinded them.
 
We are excempt from all property tax on things used for religious purposes. We are not  excempt from income tax for what employees are paid nor are we excempt from taxes on things we purchase.
 
T-Bone said:
We are excempt from all property tax on things used for religious purposes. We are not  excempt from income tax for what employees are paid nor are we excempt from taxes on things we purchase.
Click to expand...

In NC, we pay sales tax but can file for a refund, once or twice per year.
We do not pay property tax, but the county tries to bill us every few years.
Churches complain, the county commissioners tell the revenue dept to leave us alone and we return to status quo. I think it's a matter of time until we will be forced to pay property tax.
 
I don't have a problem with a church or club or school or any other non-profit paying property taxes. When there is a fire the fire department comes. When there is a crime the police show up. When it snows the road gets plowed. If they want to exempt us from those taxes, fine. If they change the laws and decide that the church should share the burden then I will render unto Caesar as Jesus instructed.

Same with my giving to the church (or the local school bake sale or whatever). If the deductible status is removed I will still give. I certainly don't give to get a tax deduction.

And if they decide that congregations of believers should pony up from their corporate income then that should be done also.
 
Interesting piece on this:

To start, the political speech prohibition did not exist until 1954. To punish and prevent political opponents from speaking out against him, then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, who was in a contentious re-election campaign, pushed through an amendment to the tax code which prohibits “political activity” by 501(c)(3) entities. It is called the Johnson Amendment. Since the prohibition passed, it has only been lightly—and selectively—enforced. Various test cases have appeared in the courts trying to figure out just what political activity is prohibited, without much success.
Click to expand...

http://thefederalist.com/2014/10/21/houston-sermons-are-legally-speaking-fair-game/

However, I find a comment about this article on Hotair to be even more interesting.  And I agree with it.

The tax code that “abridges the freedom of speech, of the press, or religion, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, etc” is what is illegal here, not the speech by the ministers.

If Congress cannot make such a law, you know the IRS (a creation of Congress) damn well can’t!
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top