Marketplace—When churches cross the tax line

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Churches usually don't have to pay property taxes. The IRS consider a house of worship a nonprofit cause. But some congregations don't meet in church buildings these days. So, guess what? The IRS is reexamining this. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.

Read it all.



Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeParish Ministry* Culture-WatchLaw & Legal IssuesReligion & Culture

3 Comments
Posted June 27, 2008 at 11:29 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. The Rev. Steven P. Tibbetts, STS wrote:

Uh, the IRS doesn’t have anything to do with property taxes—it deals with Federal income taxation, to which church with significant non-religious or business income are already subject. 

As for property taxes, in several states counties have been putting church property not used primarily for “religious purposes” on the tax rolls for years.  I recall after the passage of Proposition 13 in California some aggressive County Assessors even attempted to place church parking lots on the tax rolls, though the Legislature quickly clarified legal definitions to prevent that from happening.

June 27, 5:11 pm | [comment link]
2. w.w. wrote:

#1

Exactly right. A poorly researched and worded story. Sheesh.

w.w.

June 27, 8:04 pm | [comment link]
3. Doug Martin wrote:

A sentimental memory regarding the absence of separation of the religious and secular.  At a crossroads in the middle of (at the time) nowhere in agricultural Arizona, a hand lettered sign proclaimed the building to be the “Laveen Pentecostal Church of Christ and Allied Pump Service”.

June 28, 7:42 am | [comment link]
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