Should ministers pay local taxes?
There was an interesting story in The Enquirer's Kentucky edition today on whether ministers should be exempt from paying local payroll taxes. Boone County is removing the exemption to its .8 percent tax. Campbell County still has it.
This gets into the whole fuzzy issue of separation of church and state. But a recent state law seems clear that ministers should pay the same taxes and fees for work they do and services they perform as everyone else. And that makes sense. After all, ministers live in the community and use the same public services that others do.
What doesn't make sense is Campbell County's attitude that the county is keeping ministers exempt from the county's payroll tax because "nobody is going to sue us to make us tax them." That's according to Linda Eads, the county's occupational tax manager.
Well, Boone County did get sued, by an atheist. Besides, an attitude to ignore a law because no one is likely to complain seems like an odd position for a public servant to take.
posted by Dennis Hetzel at 11:36 AM
1 Comments:
at 8:14 AM, December 18, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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Post a Comment*Tax away, I say. I think it's great that Rep. Sen. Charles Grassley of the Finance Committee began an investigation in to how some of these people use the tax free money pledged/donated to their churches.
Let's head off a trend toward another type of nasty welfare beginning with the concept of "faith based initiatives" = transferring government programs to churches, the Republicans' way of trying to cut so-called big government. Add to that, the ease with which one can obtain a minister's license (the Ohio Sec. of State's website offers tips on how-to) and the protestant tradition of splinter religions.
One more ingredient: no decent jobs in the area, and/or insufficient education and training.
What do you get? The Church of Last Night's Deepest Thought, on every street corner, presumably tax exempt. Personally, I won't set foot in a church that hasn't been tried and true for at least 50 years. An arbitrary approach, but I say, nothing like the test of time.
Am I making this seem like it could be a huge problem, when really it won't? Sure, but it's just underscoring my point. Tax away, and use the test of time approach to leave the established religions out of it and go for the hucksters. (OK, OK, I was too liberal. Make that 100 years).
Respect to ALL faiths, by the way. But what does that have to do with $$$?
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