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Indiana_Jawnz t1_j116m3s wrote

Reply to comment by RoverTheMonster in Scientology tower on Chestnut. Still empty after all these years. by narkj

Separation of Church and state.

See Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)

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[deleted] t1_j116w1x wrote

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Indiana_Jawnz t1_j1191tf wrote

That's not all it says.

Please refer to point 3 here.

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/397/664/#674

" 3. The tax exemption creates only a minimal and remote involvement between church and state, far less than taxation of churches would entail, and it restricts the fiscal relationship between them, thus tending to complement and reinforce the desired separation insulating each from the other. Pp. 397 U. S. 674-676."

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[deleted] t1_j11j32a wrote

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Indiana_Jawnz t1_j1249a6 wrote

Hernandez v. Commissioner doesn't deal with taxing Churches themselves, it deals with the question of whether payments made to churches are tax deductible as charitable donations, and ruled they weren't.

You are right that churches can be taxed and that there is a narrow window. That window usually relates to their participation is activities not directly related to or supporting worship or charitable works.

But the reason we don't tax churches is because of the establishment clause of the 1st amendment.

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