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Good News: Montreal Is Taxing Churches

No more religious exemptions, Montreal is taxing churches: For the first time churches in Montreal are being forced to pay taxes, and some church leaders are very unhappy.

CTV Montreal reports that churches and church space not being used explicitly for the purpose of worship is now taxable property, and is to be treated as any other property as far as taxes are concerned.

As one might expect, those benefitting from the tax exempt status enjoyed by churches are not happy. Again, CTV Montreal reports:

Joel Coppetiers, the Minister at the Cote des Neiges Presbyterian church, was shocked when his institution first received a municipal tax bill…

“The indication is there’s not an exemption for the church as a whole, there’s only an exemption for those areas used for public worship and things directly related to it,” said Coppetiers.

And while some of those that benefit from the tax exempt status previously enjoyed by churches in Montreal are unhappy with the changes, others are celebrating the small step towards a more just and fair tax structure.

Indeed, subsidizing tax-exempt churches costs taxpayers money, a great deal of money.

For example, a recent report from the Secular Policy Institute shows that tax exempt churches cost U.S. taxpayers $71 billion every year.

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by Anonymousreply 23June 8, 2020 6:39 AM

That's brilliant. It will NEVER happen in the US, though, unfortunately. And, honestly, Montreal is being fairly generous still by leaving the properties/institutions directly connected to worship as tax exempt.

by Anonymousreply 1May 31, 2020 2:11 PM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 2May 31, 2020 2:27 PM

Fine by me - particularly if they instruct their congregation to vote a certain way.

The right wing has taken churches to their advantage in the US. It's disgusting.

And these little DIY churches need more regulation. Total scam and tax evasion.

by Anonymousreply 3May 31, 2020 2:33 PM

[quote]That's brilliant. It will NEVER happen in the US, though, unfortunately.

I don't care about churches, it would be nice if corporations like Amazon paid taxes.

by Anonymousreply 4May 31, 2020 2:36 PM

And mosques and synagogues, I hope. I wish it would happen here, including the subsidizing of Catholic schools, yeshiva and madrass. And no more fucking kosher or halal school lunches. Fuck these religious fuckers. I'm so fuckind done with their bullshit!

by Anonymousreply 5May 31, 2020 2:42 PM

Churches are starting to fade out at last. In the northeast the population of non-believers is some full quarter the population. Down here in Georgia it's about 16%. And those numbers will only increase.

Look, when you base your religion on a book written a couple thousand years ago there's not much new that you can use to attract adherents.

by Anonymousreply 6May 31, 2020 2:49 PM

Yes, there's definitely a generational shift happening, R6. I know eldergays live for critiquing the choices of millennials and gen-z, but with each subsequent generation, the degree of religiosity is decreasing. I live in the Southeast in a city in which the fucking baptist church used to have a lot of power in local government and owned a ton of property in our urban core and, essentially, refused to allow the core to develop around their property. In the last couple of years, their membership/attendance has decreased dramatically and they've been forced to sell a ton of their property which is now being developed into restaurants, bars, shops, theatres etc.

by Anonymousreply 7May 31, 2020 2:54 PM

Dumb question here. I'm assuming this is a tax on revenue. Since they are a not-for-profit organization, then the taxable income they would have would be either nil or negligible, right?

It's great that they are taxing churches, but it doesn't sound like it will amount to much.

by Anonymousreply 8May 31, 2020 8:08 PM

I meant to say "tax on income".

by Anonymousreply 9May 31, 2020 8:09 PM

It's not income tax. In Quebec, municipal taxes are property taxes so they pay taxes on the real estate not used for worship

by Anonymousreply 10June 4, 2020 2:17 AM

I don't have a problem with it. The Bible itself says to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." I do question how they will determine what parts of the property to tax. They say they won't tax the areas used for worship. But, what about areas used for such things as soup kitchens and AA meetings? I'd hate to see this lead to the churches abandoning free programs that actually help the community.

by Anonymousreply 11June 4, 2020 2:26 AM

I think they're targeting investment properties

by Anonymousreply 12June 4, 2020 8:16 AM

Fight the power!

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by Anonymousreply 13June 4, 2020 8:28 AM

GOOD

by Anonymousreply 14June 4, 2020 12:36 PM

Things like this need to be phased in over time.

As much as I dislike the tax exempt status of churches and religions in general, you cannot simply change rules overnight. There has to be some semblance of fairness to allow time to prepare and adequately finance the changes.

by Anonymousreply 15June 4, 2020 12:54 PM

[quote] churches and church space not being used explicitly for the purpose of worship is now taxable property

[quote] “The indication is there’s not an exemption for the church as a whole, there’s only an exemption for those areas used for public worship and things directly related to it,”

What are they actually taxing then? That definition seems to essentially leave religious buildings tax exempt. Is Montreal full of locked churches?

by Anonymousreply 16June 4, 2020 1:29 PM

[quote]Things like this need to be phased in over time.

Kind of like the abolition of slavery?

by Anonymousreply 17June 4, 2020 1:37 PM

R17 it might have worked out better over the long run. Most of our racial problems can be traced to the trauma of the Civil War and then Reconstruction. Without the civil war the South wouldn’t have had the “Lost Cause” and all the monuments that go with it, there would be no Confederate flag. Without Reconstruction following the Civil War we might not have gotten Jim Crow, the KKK, or one party rule based on White Supremacy for a hundred years in the South. And the former slaves could have had a better managed start in free society. As it happened millions of people were made free practically overnight, and were freed into areas that had just been destroyed by war. That was not an environment to create a great start for them to build on.

by Anonymousreply 18June 4, 2020 4:27 PM

[quote]Kind of like the abolition of slavery?

LOL - yes, paying taxes and slavery are exactly comparable situations. I'm so glad that you see how identical they are.

by Anonymousreply 19June 6, 2020 7:14 PM

I've never understood how churches could sell off property that they've utilized tax free for years. If they are no longer going to use it shouldn't it belong to the government? Why does the clergy get to pocket it?

by Anonymousreply 20June 6, 2020 8:52 PM

R18 I couldn't imagine that happening over time. Like the revolutionary war there had to be major slaughter and terrible misery on both sides for things to have changed.

by Anonymousreply 21June 6, 2020 8:56 PM

R21 Actually, many believe it would have happened eventually, because it was unsustainable, especially as technology improved. Owners would not have wanted to buy an expensive person that they had to house, feed, clothe, provide medical care, and constantly monitor to make sure they weren't running away or fomenting rebellion, when they could just buy a machine that could do the job of multiple slaves.

And other nations like Brazil, where a number of Confederates fled after the war, managed to end it without fighting a war, even though they were home to around 40% of slaves brought to the Americas versus the 10% that were brought to the US. It did cause the Brazilian monarchy to fall, due to the revolt of the upper-classes and slave owners, but they never brought slavery back. And Brazil, while still having racial problems, was able to build a society that is less divided than ours. Without the Civil War we wouldn't have had Reconstruction, which gave rise to Jim Crow.

by Anonymousreply 22June 7, 2020 12:21 AM

The rest of Canada was freaking out last year about their ban of religious garments and symbols on public employees. I love this.

by Anonymousreply 23June 8, 2020 6:39 AM
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