Second submission

Subject: Should Religious institutions be exempted from paying taxes?

Dear Internal Revenue Service,
Currently in all 50 states of the United States religious institutions (mosques,
temples, synagogues, etc.) are exempted from paying taxes to the federal
government of the United States. Also, all donations that these religious institutions
receive are not taxed and they dont have to pay property taxes. The debate of
whether they should continue not to pay taxes to the United States government has
been debated and discussed for a very long time and remains a controversial topic
in todays society.
During the 1890s, these religious institutions officially became tax exempted. This
tax exemption status that many religious institutions receive allows them to become
rich and abuse this status towards their benefit. Also, this tax exemption violates
the separation of church and state that exist in the constitution of the United States
because it grants religious institutions a privilege and shows favoritism and support
towards them and shows that everybody is not being treated equally.
Religious institutions in the United States should pay taxes because as a result of
the governments decision not to tax these institutions, the government loses
billions of dollars each year in income from taxes. This means that citizens and
other entities have to pay more taxes and carry the burden of this decision. Also,
this tax exemption that religious institutions receive causes a great set-back to
social progress in the United States because the money lost from this subsidy could
have been used in social aid programs or on some other pressing issues. Many
religious institutions claim and are labeled to be as nonprofit organizations by the
IRS, but at the same time they offer religious services and accumulate wealth. This
means that they are abusing the status that they have received towards their
benefit. In addition, because religious institutions are a great part of society and use
services that the government provides such as roads, they should contribute to
society by paying taxes to the government, as all citizens do in the Unites States.
Also, if religious institutions where to pay taxes the level of equality in the United
States would drastically improve and the income that the federal government
receives from taxes would drastically increase.
In conclusion, statistically religious institutions should pay taxes, but to make this
decision to be fair in comparison to other companies they should be taxed at a
lower rate than regular companies are. This because religious institutions are
nonprofit organizations and provide some sort social aid to society, but yet again
they earn profit. This could have positive effects in the economy by giving more
income to the government and would create a more equal society in the United
States, which could help improve society.
Sincerely,
Alejandro Galindo

Reference
ProCon.org. (2013, February 19). Churches and Taxes ProCon.org. Retrieved from
http://churchesandtaxes.procon.org/