Illegal Property Tax on Churches

Please read before posting

In light of recent counties in my area trying to collect property taxes on churches i just wanted to get the views on those who have dealt with this and those who may have some info on the subject.

I would like to steer away from being a debate on the issue of wanting new laws to tax churches and all that part like how we would benefit from the taxes.

One question i have is it wrong for a church according to the bible to lawyer up so to speak.
It seems to me that paying a laywer would just play into the hands of the ones collecting. Of coarse i speak of spiritual forces.
Should legal service be on a volontary basis instead of paying one?
imo The way to combat such illegal actions would be to just go and show your tax exempt paper and at the most protest.

What say you ats?

TAX EM.....! LOOK AT THE TAX ON LIQUOR AND SMOKES.....TAX EM ITS THE SAME THING.....
Its high time!

originally posted by: deadeyedick
In light of recent counties in my area trying to collect property taxes on churches i just wanted to get the views on those who have dealt with this and those who may have some info on the subject.

I would like to steer away from being a debate on the issue of wanting new laws to tax churches and all that part like how we would benefit from the taxes.

One question i have is it wrong for a church according to the bible to lawyer up so to speak.
It seems to me that paying a laywer would just play into the hands of the ones collecting. Of coarse i speak of spiritual forces.
Should legal service be on a volontary basis instead of paying one?
imo The way to combat such illegal actions would be to just go and show your tax exempt paper and at the most protest.

What say you ats?

why should churches be exempt from taxes? what have they done to earn that privilege?

a reply to: deadeyedick

There's nothing wrong with paying a lawyer for representation. I wouldn't put it past the state to try to collect taxes illegally... that said, there's also nothing wrong with taxing churches that focus on politics.

I know there is some old law here that if a church is unfinished there is no need to pay the tax. What they did then was to not finish some part, usually decorative. I'll look and see if the 'net has anything on that.



Armagh Catholic Cathedral, 1875 some part of the front facade here is unfinished, not sure what, but something on the left portal.

A US visitor's (I think) tale.

"Armagh is a charming city with many places to visit. We had lunch at a local bagel shop and then visited the town’s two churches of St. Patrick. Armagh is the only place in Northern Ireland with churches of both Protestant and Catholic faith that are both named after St. Patrick. Even more incredible is that the current leaders of both churches are descendants of St. Patrick. How neat is that?! Unfortunately, it was Confirmation in the Catholic cathedral, so I didn’t get a chance to look around as much as I would have liked to, but hearing the choir sing while the Archbishop celebrated mass was a very moving experience. Tim also told us how the Catholic cathedral managed to avoid paying taxes by not finishing one decorative piece above the left portal entrance and then claiming that the church was an active construction site. Apparently that excuse worked for well over one hundred years!"

originally posted by: smurfy
I know there is some old law here that if a church is unfinished there is no need to pay the tax. What they did then was to not finish some part, usually decorative. I'll look and see if the 'net has anything on that.

Speaking of old laws (500 years)
m.hulldailymail.co.uk...

This was a response which is fair .

Best send a letter to the church with notification of intent to offer alternative payment for the debt., as was the law of the land at the time of Henry V111...when SURFDOM was the norm.., and that should be an end to it.......

originally posted by: Denoli

originally posted by: smurfy
I know there is some old law here that if a church is unfinished there is no need to pay the tax. What they did then was to not finish some part, usually decorative. I'll look and see if the 'net has anything on that.

Speaking of old laws (500 years)
m.hulldailymail.co.uk...

This was a response which is fair .

Best send a letter to the church with notification of intent to offer alternative payment for the debt., as was the law of the land at the time of Henry V111...when SURFDOM was the norm.., and that should be an end to it.......

Yep..a good idea, that'l be a Piggy's head then, correction, a Hog's head!

Yep forget the gold and give them the lead......

originally posted by: smurfy
I know there is some old law here that if a church is unfinished there is no need to pay the tax. What they did then was to not finish some part, usually decorative. I'll look and see if the 'net has anything on that.

Armagh Catholic Cathedral, 1875 some part of the front facade here is unfinished, not sure what, but something on the left portal.

A US visitor's (I think) tale.

"Armagh is a charming city with many places to visit. We had lunch at a local bagel shop and then visited the town’s two churches of St. Patrick. Armagh is the only place in Northern Ireland with churches of both Protestant and Catholic faith that are both named after St. Patrick. Even more incredible is that the current leaders of both churches are descendants of St. Patrick. How neat is that?! Unfortunately, it was Confirmation in the Catholic cathedral, so I didn’t get a chance to look around as much as I would have liked to, but hearing the choir sing while the Archbishop celebrated mass was a very moving experience. Tim also told us how the Catholic cathedral managed to avoid paying taxes by not finishing one decorative piece above the left portal entrance and then claiming that the church was an active construction site. Apparently that excuse worked for well over one hundred years!"

so what excuse do they use now?

Would it be ok if I hold services in my home, declare it a church and avoid property taxes? Do you want to legislate what is a "true" religion, what constitutes a member of a church and who is authorized to hold services?

I should be able to get a few friends to come over to the double wide and sing and dance to garner favor from the force.


What's the difference between that and what passes for "organized" religion?

Eh, if they tax "churches" I think they should tax temples and mosques (if they don't already). Sure it's taxation without representation but at least it's equal oppression.

a reply to: stirling

I agree ...some people's religion is alcohol!

originally posted by: olaru12
Would it be ok if I hold services in my home, declare it a church and avoid property taxes? Do you want to legislate what is a "true" religion, what constitutes a member of a church and who is authorized to hold services?

Yep business is bumming , i mean booming with all the gays getting married now .

We should be expanding that tax exempt status to homeowners. Why are people wanting MORE taxes on anything? The only taxes I see as fair are on corporations and imports. Of course I don't think we need that bloated thing we call a federal Government either.

As far as churches go though they don't make a profit and in fact don't have income. They survive totally on donations so the idea of taxing them is preposterous in my opinion.

originally posted by: Metallicus
We should be expanding that tax exempt status to homeowners. Why are people wanting MORE taxes on anything? The only taxes I see as fair are on corporations and imports. Of course I don't think we need that bloated thing we call a federal Government either.

As far as churches go though they don't make a profit and in fact don't have income. They survive totally on donations so the idea of taxing them is preposterous in my opinion.

Donations ?
Like we're does the money from weddings and christenings go ? Funerals ?

a reply to: Metallicus

Greetings and a pleasant afternoon ... "You ARE The Church" -- Jesus Now did He mean that We should be tax free or that We shouldn't bother going to a place when We are already present?? I'd be all for less "Uncle Suga" but the Gov't. has gotten into the business of providing "charity" which 'was' a function of the Church™ but because theChurch™ is more focused on numbers 'they' spend a lot of $$$ on recruitment, etc. Because of this the Gov.t now picks up the slack.

If the Church™ did their 'primary function' then Uncle Suga could go on a diet.

Segue: What do You think Jesus would think of what We did to His 'naming day'?

originally posted by: TzarChasm

originally posted by: smurfy
I know there is some old law here that if a church is unfinished there is no need to pay the tax. What they did then was to not finish some part, usually decorative. I'll look and see if the 'net has anything on that.

Armagh Catholic Cathedral, 1875 some part of the front facade here is unfinished, not sure what, but something on the left portal.

A US visitor's (I think) tale.

"Armagh is a charming city with many places to visit. We had lunch at a local bagel shop and then visited the town’s two churches of St. Patrick. Armagh is the only place in Northern Ireland with churches of both Protestant and Catholic faith that are both named after St. Patrick. Even more incredible is that the current leaders of both churches are descendants of St. Patrick. How neat is that?! Unfortunately, it was Confirmation in the Catholic cathedral, so I didn’t get a chance to look around as much as I would have liked to, but hearing the choir sing while the Archbishop celebrated mass was a very moving experience. Tim also told us how the Catholic cathedral managed to avoid paying taxes by not finishing one decorative piece above the left portal entrance and then claiming that the church was an active construction site. Apparently that excuse worked for well over one hundred years!"

so what excuse do they use now?

Ah, you are going by what is says in the quote at the end, "Apparently that excuse worked for well over one hundred years!" I don't know if anything has changed, It could be just a turn of phrase. I know I was there a couple of years ago and was told the same thing, the guide didn't say if it was obsolete now or otherwise. Anyway, the quote says well over a hundred years, the Cathedral was built in 1875 so at this time it's only coming up to 140 years old, so maybe nothing has changed.

To quote from their own book .. they need to render unto ceasar that which belongs to ceasar - TAX them. They fail to pay confiscate all land buildings and assets then jail them.

originally posted by: Metallicus
We should be expanding that tax exempt status to homeowners. Why are people wanting MORE taxes on anything? The only taxes I see as fair are on corporations and imports. Of course I don't think we need that bloated thing we call a federal Government either.

As far as churches go though they don't make a profit and in fact don't have income. They survive totally on donations so the idea of taxing them is preposterous in my opinion.

Are YOU Kidding?
The church business is one of the most profitable....they.sell nothing and yuet collect big time.....really BIG time....

originally posted by: deadeyedick
Please read before posting

In light of recent counties in my area trying to collect property taxes on churches i just wanted to get the views on those who have dealt with this and those who may have some info on the subject.

I would like to steer away from being a debate on the issue of wanting new laws to tax churches and all that part like how we would benefit from the taxes.

One question i have is it wrong for a church according to the bible to lawyer up so to speak.
It seems to me that paying a laywer would just play into the hands of the ones collecting. Of coarse i speak of spiritual forces.
Should legal service be on a volontary basis instead of paying one?
imo The way to combat such illegal actions would be to just go and show your tax exempt paper and at the most protest.

What say you ats?

What's the law in the US at present? Here, churches are exempted from rates, (a property tax based on value) as are charities and charity shops.
You could be onto something here, but I'm just not sure what. The whole object of exemptions for the churches, was to separate the churches from the state as gathering houses to promote religion, (deemed a good thing I presume) the same goes for charitable organisations and charity shops, (as long as those shops only sell donated goods). I smell the legalise rat about.