Halley Bondy recently highlighted the fact that churches aren’t taxes, writing, “I’ve often gazed at the giant cathedrals in New York and thought: shouldn’t churches become housing or hospitals instead of vast, hollowed-out mansions? Shouldn’t they stop bleeding money from their congregants, whose cash would be better spent on our public schools?”
“Not taxing churches has had great economic and social consequences — but taxing churches would, too,” continues Bondy. “And as it turns out, taxing isn’t even the crux of the debate. Questions of accountability, abuse, and poverty have to be addressed before we even get there.”
