In Support of SB193
Community and Regional Affairs Committee Substitute
An act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious organization and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes on certain primary residences
“the power to tax involves the power to destroy”
- Chief Justice John Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
Tax exempt status for religious institutions has a long tradition in America for two main reasons. First, the threat of taxation can be used to hinder the free exercise of religion. In the case of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, pastor Prevo and Mayor Begich are known to disagree on certain moral issues. By presuming the power to tax church property, the Mayor can establish a climate of fear, in turn hindering other pastors from speaking out on those moral issues. Taken to an extreme, taxation can be used to reduce or even destroy; much the way governments have used taxation to reduce smoking across the country.
The second reason for tax exemption is an acknowledgement of the services provided by religious institutions. People who attend church are less likely to use drugs, spend time in jail or abuse their spouse, and more likely to have jobs, own homes, and volunteer in community organizations. Many churches are used as polling places or convenient locations for community-wide meetings like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts or Alcoholics Anonymous. The parents of 550 students attending Anchorage Baptist Academy pay taxes to support public schools in addition to paying tuition for their own children, an amount much greater than would be taken in by the proposed assessment on church property.
Recognizing the importance of religion in family life and the threats to its free exercise, Eagle Forum Alaska supports tax exemptions for church property. We fully support CSSB193 (CRA) “An act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious organization and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes on certain primary residences”.
An act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious organization and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes on certain primary residences
“the power to tax involves the power to destroy”- Chief Justice John Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
Tax exempt status for religious institutions has a long tradition in America for two main reasons. First, the threat of taxation can be used to hinder the free exercise of religion. In the case of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, pastor Prevo and Mayor Begich are known to disagree on certain moral issues. By presuming the power to tax church property, the Mayor can establish a climate of fear, in turn hindering other pastors from speaking out on those moral issues. Taken to an extreme, taxation can be used to reduce or even destroy; much the way governments have used taxation to reduce smoking across the country.
The second reason for tax exemption is an acknowledgement of the services provided by religious institutions. People who attend church are less likely to use drugs, spend time in jail or abuse their spouse, and more likely to have jobs, own homes, and volunteer in community organizations. Many churches are used as polling places or convenient locations for community-wide meetings like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts or Alcoholics Anonymous. The parents of 550 students attending Anchorage Baptist Academy pay taxes to support public schools in addition to paying tuition for their own children, an amount much greater than would be taken in by the proposed assessment on church property.
Recognizing the importance of religion in family life and the threats to its free exercise, Eagle Forum Alaska supports tax exemptions for church property. We fully support CSSB193 (CRA) “An act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious organization and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes on certain primary residences”.
posted by Don Haase @ 7:58 AM
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