exempt?

  Hearing some discussion about tax exempt status for certain businesses and religious organizations. Should any of these receive this status? Well, the thing is this, our nation was founded upon Christian traditions. That is to say, the majority of the population held a belief in a higher power than themselves, a divine creator. It's true that not everyone agreed on the extent of the creators powers, the ability or willingness to intervene in the matters of mankind. Not everyone could agree upon the manner in which worship was to be conducted. And not everyone could agree on the exact meaning and interpretation of the many editions of the Bible, either old or new testament. Still, none of that negated the belief in that power/entity.

  Ok, so how does that effect tax status? It's really quite easy to understand. The thinking is that the buildings used, the Pastors, Priests, Reverends and Ministers should receive that status in conjunction with their work. The church buildings shouldn't be taxed, that would then place a burden on the collection plate, ie: it would be akin to charging admission as a set amount would have to be raised to pay that tax. The building was raised by private funds donated by the congregants, they shouldn't have to then pay any land/ building tax. Charity should be tax free! That is the long and short of that mindset. I shouldn't be taxed for being charitable. That is also the thought behind tax exempt status for any charitable organization. The rules have been written, rewritten, and expanded over the years. The number of such organizations operating today are too numerous for me to even count. I could obtain a PhD in attempting to do that.

 Are we to remove that premise from the national conscience? Charity should be taxed the same way "sin" taxes are applied to alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Are we going to say both actions are exactly the same? That it just doesn't make any difference what the intent is. I've heard many say the church should lose their tax exempt status. I haven't heard those same people saying they should lose their tax deductions when contributing to a charitable organization. No, they should get a reduction in their taxes, it's for charity. Yes, that is the premise isn't it? 

 I did do a bit of research regarding tax exempt organizations. According to the tax foundation.org website  The tax-exempt nonprofit economy now comprises 15 percent of GDP, spans more than 1.8 million organizations, and manages over $8 trillion in assets. What happens if we remove all tax exemptions from these organizations? Will that 8 trillion in assets somehow become public properties/assets? What happens to 15% of our gross domestic profit? Currently that figure is 5 Trillion, 550 billion dollars. 15% of total market value isn't something to sneeze at! The big question is, would all those 1.8 million organizations continue to operate and provide that 15% to the GDP? I'm no economist but I highly doubt that would be the case. 

 Regardless of any of that, the bottom line in my thinking is as I said earlier; Charity should be tax free. You don't look a gift horse in the mouth is an old adage, although not directly related to the imposition of taxes, the sentiment is the same. My Bible says this: 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. That's why you don't tax that. Charity for you, but not for me?