Christianity's Legal Tax Evasions
• Filthy Lucre
Freedom from taxes, government regulations anything that calls itself religious gets a free ride from local, state and the federal government:
As a result of these special breaks, religious organizations of all faiths stand in a position that American businesses — and the thousands of nonprofit groups without that “religious” label — can only envy. And the new breaks come at a time when many religious organizations are expanding into activities — from day care centers to funeral homes, from ice cream parlors to fitness clubs, from bookstores to broadcasters — that compete with these same businesses and nonprofit organizations.
As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation
Some religious institutions make McDonalds look downright kind:
Legislators and regulators are not the only people in government who have drafted special rules for religious organizations. Judges, too, have carved out or preserved safe havens that shield religious employers of all faiths from most employee lawsuits, from laws protecting pensions and providing unemployment benefits, and from laws that give employees the right to form unions to negotiate with their employers.
Where Faith Abides, Employees Have Few Rights
Screw thy neighbor:
If Holy Cross Village is not taxed, members of the assessment board point out, a heavier burden will fall on the working families in the county that are struggling to pay the taxes on their small homes in careworn communities like the west side of South Bend.
“I was educated by the Brothers of Holy Cross” at St. Joseph’s High School, “and I have a great deal of respect, love and affection for them,” said Dennis J. Dillman, a longtime board member. “But I think what they’re doing is just not right. And that is based on the values they taught me at their schools.”
Religious Programs Expand, So Do Tax Breaks
Render unto Caesar?
Like the many other tax and regulatory exemptions that have become available to religious organizations in America, the tax breaks for clergy housing expenses and religious publications benefit religion in ways that some critics say go beyond the limits of the Constitution.
Until several years ago, “it was inconceivable for most to think that religion might well be aggressively expanding its power in a way that is harmful to the public good,” said Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor at the Cardozo law school at Yeshiva University in New York and the author of God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, which is critical of many religious exemptions, particularly in the areas of land use and family law.