According to Barbara Ketay, she says about churches being incorporated, that,'...(87%) have been coerced by the government into becoming an incorportaed church, i.e., IRS 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, or better yet a 'state church".
In light of the answer that Jesus gave to the disciples of the Pharisees and the party followers of Herod about paying taxes, would Jesus and his followers TODAY be 'incorporated?' If not, then why is the WTBTS incorporated? Is this not also a 'mark' of the beast? Jesus said you can cannot be serving two masters at the same time. Since they removed their name from the library of the U.N., why don't they also remove their incorporated name?
Not all 501-C-3 organizations are churches. Most charities are also set up this way. Legally, a corporation is a person. It is a legal fiction necessary to conduct business and churches are big business. It is not feasible to bring a lawsuit, for example, against 3 million members of a church. However, it is feasible to sue a church "corporation". A corporation can enter into contracts just like a person can. It is also a tax thing. The classification under 501-C-3 makes it possible for contributors to take the donation as a deduction on their taxes. A great many donations to churches would dry up if they were not tax deductible. The classification under 501-C-3 does not give the "state" any power to dictate beliefs or influence doctrine. Our constitution and bill of rights protects us from this. However, the decision by the government that 501-C-3 is being abused, and not applicable to a particular oganization, can sure dry up the donation stream.
I always wondered what would have happened if the borg was sued (child molestation suits) and they didn't have money to pay. I was wondering if I had to get my DA letter in ASAP!
In light of the answer that Jesus gave to the disciples of the Pharisees and the party followers of Herod about paying taxes, would Jesus and his followers TODAY be 'incorporated?'
Of course they would be. There is nothing immoral about ethically and legally reducing the amount of tax you owe the government. Jesus and his followers would say it is making the wisest use of donated funds.
I personally think churches should be taxed the same as any business. But I have no issue with any business legitamitely reducing the amount of taxes it pays.
Self-employed individuals can incorporate themselves to reduce their taxes. It costs about $900 to set up. It reduces your taxes from 40+% of your income to something like 20% of your income. It basically cuts the tax you pay in half. I did not do this myself, but I see nothing wrong in doing so. In fact, I think it is wise.
Skeptic, note that Ms Ketay said these churches were 'coerced'.Explain to me then what Jesus meant when he responded to this entrapment, "Pay back.... God's things to God".
I presume you understand that a group has few choices in the western world when it comes to owning property, accepting donations, maintaining feduciary responsibility, etc. without some form of legal establishment. Limited partnerships don't allow for large membership, incorporating solves such delimma. In and of itself, incorporating is not a sign of evil intent or exercize of satanic values. It is what it is and not any form of worshiping another god..
