However, as it currently stands, in many cases, those would-be tax dollars are being directly deposited into the pockets of greedy, corrupt clergymen that care less about what is in your heart and more about what is in your wallet. Bear in mind that the Church of Scientology brings in $500-550 million every year, according to an article by L. Christopher Smith for Entrepreneur. This church earns more in a year than most people will see in their entire lifetime, and yet none of it goes to the IRS; it remains in the money-grubbing hands of the church’s leaders. The Church of Scientology is not a unique case; the same truth applies to numerous other large religious organizations, making the story of the single mother and the pastor a largely truthful
…show more content…
In the 1819 court case McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall argues that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy” (1), and upholds the constitutionality of religious tax exemptions on the basis that requiring churches to pay them would put their free expression of religion at risk. This argument falls apart when one considers that requiring churches to pay taxes like other organizations would bring about equal treatment of religious and nonreligious organizations, as neither are being shown favoritism. It is merely a fair system for taxing all institutions, rather than an attack on religious freedom, as is argued by dissenters of the idea. Rest assured, the government isn’t going to annihilate citizens’ freedom to practice their religious beliefs anytime soon, despite what some may …show more content…
An equal society is one in which The Church of Scientology must pay their well-overdue fair share to the IRS. An equal society is one in which the pastor is writing a check to pay the church’s taxes like the mother is writing one to pay her own. By no means should churches be antagonized as a whole as corrupt and greedy; this is far from the truth. The fact remains, however, that the current favoritism they receive by our government allows them to become corrupt entities lawfully. The Constitution as a whole, certainly its First Amendment, must be upheld at all times in America, and these exemptions violate its Establishment Clause directly. This issue affects all citizens in some manner, largely due to the fact that the tax deficit caused by the exemptions must be taken from everyone’s else’s income, regardless of their desire to support such organizations. Perhaps, in the coming years, more people and, hopefully, the federal government, could realize the inequality and economic issues that stem from religious tax exemptions. Ending them would be a step in the right direction towards a truly equal and ideal United States of
In the 1819 court case McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall argues that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy” (1), and upholds the constitutionality of religious tax exemptions on the basis that requiring churches to pay them would put their free expression of religion at risk. This argument falls apart when one considers that requiring churches to pay taxes like other organizations would bring about equal treatment of religious and nonreligious organizations, as neither are being shown favoritism. It is merely a fair system for taxing all institutions, rather than an attack on religious freedom, as is argued by dissenters of the idea. Rest assured, the government isn’t going to annihilate citizens’ freedom to practice their religious beliefs anytime soon, despite what some may …show more content…
An equal society is one in which The Church of Scientology must pay their well-overdue fair share to the IRS. An equal society is one in which the pastor is writing a check to pay the church’s taxes like the mother is writing one to pay her own. By no means should churches be antagonized as a whole as corrupt and greedy; this is far from the truth. The fact remains, however, that the current favoritism they receive by our government allows them to become corrupt entities lawfully. The Constitution as a whole, certainly its First Amendment, must be upheld at all times in America, and these exemptions violate its Establishment Clause directly. This issue affects all citizens in some manner, largely due to the fact that the tax deficit caused by the exemptions must be taken from everyone’s else’s income, regardless of their desire to support such organizations. Perhaps, in the coming years, more people and, hopefully, the federal government, could realize the inequality and economic issues that stem from religious tax exemptions. Ending them would be a step in the right direction towards a truly equal and ideal United States of