This was the year I accepted a call to my first senior pastorate. Being a "good stward," I went to a lecture about the tax implications for churches under the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1983. Thgis was around budget time. I was shocked!!!!
Reagan announced that he believed that the churches in this country represented an underground economny bigger than the MAFIA! The "act called for ALL CHURCES in the country to be audited [an impossibility without tripleling the size of the IRS]. All ministers were required to participate in Social Security and Medicare, unless you filed a request to be excused for religious reasons within two years of your ordination. Churches could no longer categorize regular employees as "Contract Laborers." Ministers were paid as Independent contractors; however, when I pay my taxes, I can't deduct any professional expenses. The law says that the church had to provide for all professional expenses. Chches, no matter how small, had to regularly issue statements of members' donations. The IRS no longer accepts cancelled checks for declaring church donations! If the minister lived in a parsonage, that minister haas to pay taxes on the value of the parsonage. I could go on, but you can read the law for yourself.
All I know is that our little church budget had to be increased 22% to cover the additional income and payroll taxes. My secretary was living on her husbands Social Security. But she had to pay in to her account anyway even though she would never be able to use the benefits.
Thomm, every church I've pastored has been a community center for other groups, community meetings, voting polls, even use by the public schools. My last pastorate had the only gymnasium in that part of town. Our rroms and gym were being used by so many community groups, I had to hire an additional secretary to keep the records. Our water, electric, gas bills were high because of community use, not our use. Three African American churchs near-by call my church "their church because every time the were dinners, funerls, reunions, they were always at my church. Most responsible churches know that the best security against vandalism is to keep people on-site morning, noon and night. BTW every church I served was required to pay all local fees e.g. sewer, streets, bonds etc. Our courtyard waas big enough for the neighbors to use for pock-up football games. We could noot allow any for-profits to use any part of the church. All use had to be "community service." Most groups were glad to pay a small fee to help defray our costs. So!! You would rather have a bunch of monks go tax-free. But the churches providing emergency shelter, etc., you think are getting by paying nothing. It makes me SICK, every time I hear you rant about what Johnson allowed churches to get by with. As a CEO of my church, I subscribed to a service to keep me informed about the law's changes. Oncve a Tax Act is passed. The IRS continues to add to it via its audit system, amd ultimately in tax court. The IRS needs to audit the church in Gainsville. I bet they'll discover that the pastor gets all of the money, making the church his own personal musiness which will put his ass in jail for at leest 10 years.
PLEAse! Please! Please! don't include honest churches which use its facilities for community service.. I will remind you to do your homework every time you bring up out-dated information about the co9mmunity-oriented churches.
Rev. Dr. Robert G. Hasty, Minister {ret.]
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)