More than 1,000 pastors plan challenge IRS endorse candidate

Nobody that matters wrote:

LOL wrote: Looks to me like they are just pushing for a court case to settle this once and for all, and the IRS has not pursued it in the past. Maybe it needs to be settled and decided. I personally think Celebs and Preachers should stay out of politics, but that's just IMO

I agree, but preachers get tax breaks. I think they should loose those tax breaks if they poke their noses into politics in an official capacity.

Loose? But actually think what you are saying. Preachers would esentially be penalized for speaking their mind if it strays into politics. Sounds unfair to me. Almost more like something Stalinist would come up with. Your church will remain open as long as you don't say anything against the current goverment or people running for office this November.

Essentially threating a fine, (loss of tax exemptions) for saying an opinion the goverment doesn't agree with.

In so many of the nasty dictatorships around the world, religion is one of the places where dissent begins. Or would you prefer to be like China where the "official" Catholic Church will not say anything against the tyranny.

Yes... That's one reason why churches have always gotten a free-pass on taxation...

They can jump into politics, or they can keep their sweetheart tax-breaks... Sounds perfectly fair to me. Keep your stinkin' religion out of my politics.

The power to tax is the power to destroy - Justice Marshall, McColloch v Maryland.

Allowing the federal government to tax a religious entity, for any reason, is giving to the federal government the power to destroy the free exercise of religion in the Union. You might not agree with the principles espoused by the religion, you may think the whole thing is a fairy-tale, but you may not attempt to chill the free exercise of the religion by levying a tax on the expression of it.

Democracy4Sale wrote: Yes... That's one reason why churches have always gotten a free-pass on taxation...

They can jump into politics, or they can keep their sweetheart tax-breaks... Sounds perfectly fair to me. Keep your stinkin' religion out of my politics.

I don't know why you dislike Ayn Rand so much, you and her agree on so much about religion. She would hate the modern moral majority version of the Republican Party almost as much as you do.

FredHayek wrote: I don't know why you dislike Ayn Rand so much, you and her agree on so much about religion. She would hate the modern moral majority version of the Republican Party almost as much as you do.

The fact that she was an avowed atheist only makes your worship of her even more delicious. If you haven't figured out all of the other reasons why I detest, loathe and despise someone whose selfish, narcissistic, greedy, sociopathic, "let the bastards freeze in the dark" mentality is trumpeted by the teabaggers, then I wonder if your mommy knows you're using her computer?

I am not exactly a holy roller Christian. Deists. Pretty close to athiest in most people's book.

FredHayek wrote:

Nobody that matters wrote:

LOL wrote: Looks to me like they are just pushing for a court case to settle this once and for all, and the IRS has not pursued it in the past. Maybe it needs to be settled and decided. I personally think Celebs and Preachers should stay out of politics, but that's just IMO

I agree, but preachers get tax breaks. I think they should loose those tax breaks if they poke their noses into politics in an official capacity.

Loose? But actually think what you are saying. Preachers would esentially be penalized for speaking their mind if it strays into politics. Sounds unfair to me. Almost more like something Stalinist would come up with. Your church will remain open as long as you don't say anything against the current goverment or people running for office this November.

Essentially threating a fine, (loss of tax exemptions) for saying an opinion the goverment doesn't agree with.

In so many of the nasty dictatorships around the world, religion is one of the places where dissent begins. Or would you prefer to be like China where the "official" Catholic Church will not say anything against the tyranny.

That could be said for taxing any individual or entity. Why should churches get a free tax break? Newspapers and other media have to pay taxes, and I believe that their freedom is more important to speak out against government than any other entity. If the church wants to play in the arena of Caesar, then they can pay Caesar.

A newspaper is a commercial enterprise selling a product, just as every other commercial enterprise is. They are not taxed for participation in political speech as the federal government threatens to do with religious organizations. Apples and pears Dog. Now if Congress had put something in the tax code specifically to levy an additional tax above and beyond the regular ones if the newspaper published political speech - then you have something that at least approaches equivalency with the tax threatened to be levied on a religious organization for their political speech.

Churches should be taxed like any other business. Period.

Soulshiner wrote: Churches should be taxed like any other business. Period.

:thumbsup: :woo hoo: