tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108233204386860891.post7784995375698526102..comments2023-06-03T19:15:32.260+10:00Comments on Ramblings on the Way: Should the church pay tax?Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10701675993909208817noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108233204386860891.post-86517106209867269792013-02-27T11:39:46.869+11:002013-02-27T11:39:46.869+11:00Tom,
You make a good point about the volunteer h...Tom, <br /><br />You make a good point about the volunteer hours (and wages) which the church saves the community.<br /><br />In the utopia like world I wrote about they would all be included in the "service" aspect of my post (how this would all be worked out is WAYYY beyond my tiny finite mind).<br /><br />And when it comes to the ACA story there is a lot left unsaid, including the massive amount of things Hillsong and their people provide for the community.<br /><br />But the thing which especially caught my attention, and I imagine a lot of other people, was the proceeds from their records. I'm not convinced, on something of that commercial nature, we shouldn't pay our way.<br /><br />But you make a good point and, probably, it’s part of the reason why the whole church & tax issue isn’t dealt with.Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10701675993909208817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108233204386860891.post-55038218091659430482013-02-26T23:38:15.396+11:002013-02-26T23:38:15.396+11:00I think that the tax-free thing for churches is al...I think that the tax-free thing for churches is also that they facilitate a huge volunteer base working in the community, which saves the government money. <br /><br />Churches, as you know, run kids ministry, youth ministry, play groups, meals services, visits to elderly and much more. At my last church they spent $500 a year on youth ministry, which would probably be tax-free as youth stuff should fall under community services.<br /><br />But when you have 10 leaders working 4 hours a week minimum, 40 weeks of the year, at $20 an hour, that's $32,000 a year. So that's one low-paid government employee we're saving from having to spend taxes on. <br /><br />Add that up across just one church and that's a lot of money that the government doesn't have to be spending on services. <br /><br />Hillsong do plenty of volunteering and community services. In that ACA story the figures reported show they're giving away over 10% of what they're bringing in, and they are facilitating huge amounts of community engagement. And we have no idea how much money is being spent on internal-church programs which would be considered community services anyway.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm not saying churches shouldn't be taxed, but there's more to the issue than just what gets actually spent on social services.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13412621934366542272noreply@blogger.com