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Soph0571

(9,685 posts)
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 06:47 AM Dec 2018

Florida church violated its religious exemption status and got slapped with a $7.1 million tax bill

The oldest church in Miami has been hit with a mega tax bill by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, which determined that the church leased a portion of its grounds to food trucks and a for-profit school — a violation of its religious exemption status, the Miami Herald reports.

The church, located at 609 Brickell Ave., has run a K-8 religious school on the property since 2008. The bill comprises a tax lien totaling $6.5 million (including interest and fines) for the years 2009-2017 and a current bill of $509,526.24 for the 2018 year.


http://deadstate.org/florida-church-violated-its-religious-exemption-status-so-it-got-slapped-with-a-7-1-million-tax-bill/

Oh my!
32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Florida church violated its religious exemption status and got slapped with a $7.1 million tax bill (Original Post) Soph0571 Dec 2018 OP
So there's a church in Miami that needs to get right with Jesus and the IRS ... marble falls Dec 2018 #1
Yet they still leave the Scientologist alone. Oppaloopa Dec 2018 #2
Exactly! AC_Mem Dec 2018 #16
No!!! atreides1 Dec 2018 #29
Understood and agree AC_Mem Dec 2018 #30
Tuition is going to go up! Sancho Dec 2018 #3
About Time Racerdog1 Dec 2018 #4
K&R!!! Absolutely!!! All the damn godly cults. n/t RKP5637 Dec 2018 #10
and extremely political...jesus is just their cover because they aint christian Larrybanal Dec 2018 #19
Now take their exemption Soxfan58 Dec 2018 #5
Yes! Lonestarblue Dec 2018 #18
Aren't churches supposed to refrain from political activity, too? Why aren't they taxed? catbyte Dec 2018 #6
Excellent question!!! n/t RKP5637 Dec 2018 #11
I think that was changed in a bill earlier this year Crutchez_CuiBono Dec 2018 #13
We need much more of this! mwb970 Dec 2018 #7
This should happen to about 90% of all religious establishments. nt Ferrets are Cool Dec 2018 #8
Definitely!!! Most are a sham benefiting the authoritarian rulers of the church. And the little RKP5637 Dec 2018 #12
Tax the churches! mountain grammy Dec 2018 #9
Give them tax write offs for real charity, tax their property and income, greymattermom Dec 2018 #17
Surrounded by high-rises and only 150 parishioners lostnfound Dec 2018 #14
Only 150 parishioners and they racked up over $6.5 million in taxes Farmer-Rick Dec 2018 #15
Being surrounded by high rises. property is valuable. lostnfound Dec 2018 #22
I say review tax exempt status of ALL religious institutions. usaf-vet Dec 2018 #20
Better yet just do away with the exemption altogether Major Nikon Dec 2018 #23
Ok!! that would work for me. usaf-vet Dec 2018 #28
Tax the churches!!! eom LittleGirl Dec 2018 #21
Agreed, NeoGreen Dec 2018 #25
Yup, that post should be an OP. eom LittleGirl Dec 2018 #27
Yes! Nitram Dec 2018 #24
Tax exemptions like those are a de facto subsidy for churches. MineralMan Dec 2018 #26
It's a start... Hulk Dec 2018 #31
Is the IRS in their future? nitpicker Dec 2018 #32

marble falls

(61,911 posts)
1. So there's a church in Miami that needs to get right with Jesus and the IRS ...
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 07:26 AM
Dec 2018

“The property appraiser is doing their job and we are doing ours,” he said. “The rest is in the hands of God.” and the tax lawyers apparently.

AC_Mem

(1,979 posts)
30. Understood and agree
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 01:04 PM
Dec 2018

however, Scientology is a really dangerous Cult - if there is a list of who needs to be investigated, they need to be at the top.

 

Racerdog1

(808 posts)
4. About Time
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 07:36 AM
Dec 2018

These cults acting and pretending to be churches are nothing but a high form of fraudsters.

Lonestarblue

(11,567 posts)
18. Yes!
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:49 AM
Dec 2018

I’ve always seen the tax exemption for churches as forced subsidies of religion, especially now that evangelicals are so heavily involved in politics. If ministers can tell parishioners who to vote for, those churches should lose their exemption.

catbyte

(35,665 posts)
6. Aren't churches supposed to refrain from political activity, too? Why aren't they taxed?
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:04 AM
Dec 2018

From the IRS website:

The ban on political campaign activity by charities and churches was created by Congress more than a half century ago. The Internal Revenue Service administers the tax laws written by Congress and has enforcement authority over tax-exempt organizations. Here is some background information on the political campaign activity ban and the latest IRS enforcement statistics regarding its administration of this congressional ban.

In 1954, Congress approved an amendment by Sen. Lyndon Johnson to prohibit 501(c)(3) organizations, which includes charities and churches, from engaging in any political campaign activity. To the extent Congress has revisited the ban over the years, it has in fact strengthened the ban. The most recent change came in 1987 when Congress amended the language to clarify that the prohibition also applies to statements opposing candidates.

Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one "which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."


https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/charities-churches-and-politics

Crutchez_CuiBono

(7,725 posts)
13. I think that was changed in a bill earlier this year
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:27 AM
Dec 2018

so that churches could preach politics and not lose their tax empt status. Not positive, but, I think thats been changed. I don't have a link, and i may be wrong. Seems like it was in one of their very first bills.

mwb970

(11,686 posts)
7. We need much more of this!
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:17 AM
Dec 2018

The "no taxes for churches" BS has got to end. We are moving past religion now.

RKP5637

(67,112 posts)
12. Definitely!!! Most are a sham benefiting the authoritarian rulers of the church. And the little
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:25 AM
Dec 2018

people hand over their money for the imaginary being in the sky.

greymattermom

(5,791 posts)
17. Give them tax write offs for real charity, tax their property and income,
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:47 AM
Dec 2018

and maybe they will actually help the poor. If they operate a soup kitchen, they would get reduced property tax, for example. It's easy to figure out how this would work.

Farmer-Rick

(11,219 posts)
15. Only 150 parishioners and they racked up over $6.5 million in taxes
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 08:43 AM
Dec 2018

True that bill includes fines and interest and covers several years but it says in this year alone they have racked up over half a million.

How much income and property must they own to rack up that kind of cost in taxes alone?

Religion is a scam. If we gave that kind of assistance to farmers, we would all be eating organic, pesticide and Round Up free foods.

lostnfound

(16,555 posts)
22. Being surrounded by high rises. property is valuable.
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 09:09 AM
Dec 2018

This is probably motivated by a politically connected developer that wants the property.
It’s probably going to be underwater (global warming) in 20 years anyway.

usaf-vet

(6,816 posts)
20. I say review tax exempt status of ALL religious institutions.
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 09:05 AM
Dec 2018

Revaluate the justifications for maintaining 501C status.

If the church(s) are preaching politics from the pulpit on Sunday pull their status.

If they are funding political activities or candidates pull their status.

If the head of a mega church is living the life of a millionaire / billionaire pull their status.
No more million dollar jets and mega homes while people in their part of the state are struggling to support a family.

And on and on and on.... the many reasons that the tax exempt status is being miss used.

Major Nikon

(36,899 posts)
23. Better yet just do away with the exemption altogether
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 09:10 AM
Dec 2018

Make churches qualify like all other non-profits. If you wanna run a soup kitchen, tax exempt. Fleecing the flock, not tax exempt.

MineralMan

(147,334 posts)
26. Tax exemptions like those are a de facto subsidy for churches.
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 09:14 AM
Dec 2018

We don't notice it, because we don't see how much taxes they would pay if they were not exempt. This is a good example of how much money that church essentially got from the county by not having to pay the taxes other properties have to pay.

This should be a wake-up call to people who live there. I'll bet that church is wide-awake today about what their violations mean to them. Pay up, folks. You were conducting commercial operations on that property, and are liable for those taxes.

End tax subsidies for all churches!

 

Hulk

(6,699 posts)
31. It's a start...
Wed Dec 19, 2018, 01:06 PM
Dec 2018

If I were a congressman, I’d be working to introduce a bill designed to LIMIT the tax exemption for ANY non profit..Churches in particular. Mega churches can exist, but they WOULD BE TAXED on everything over a certain cap.

Non profits might be a little more complicated, but churches would be a no brainer. Property tax everything over $1-2,000,000 at the standard rate; income tax on everything same as a business.

Evangelical heads would explode. I’d be a one term congressman, but it needs to be addressed.

nitpicker

(7,153 posts)
32. Is the IRS in their future?
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 05:25 AM
Dec 2018

At least on not reporting the food truck income (iif not insignificant) on a 990-T.

The IRS has been much more reluctant to go after church school, because it could be construed as trying to make laws about what religious organizations can have as related businesses.

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