I have no clue when it comes to Australian politics, but these articles got my interest.
Could this be the start of something?...
It would take too much space to quote them all, but please read each one in order. It might make more sense, what I am getting at.
It seems to me that the debate we no doubt all want to see happen: 'Why do religions, those who don't do any community work except advancing their own religion, get tax exemption?', could be coming soon.
Or maybe I am wrong?
www.crikey.com.au/2016/04/05/essential-voters-want-to-dump-religious-tax-exemption/
http://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/tax-exemption-for-religious-groups-should-end-poll/2994952/
http://m.theage.com.au/comment/easter-is-a-good-time-to-revisit-taxexempt-status-of-religious-organisations-20160323-gnpzjj.html
^^ Note who wrote the article, it says at the end.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Sex_Party
^^ Yes, the above is actually a real political party. Read the page, trust me. Brief description:
www.outinperth.com/sex-party-petition-repeal-acls-charitable-status/
http://m.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/who-are-the-australian-christian-lobby-20160218-gmy67y.html
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You can sign their petition here if you wish to do so:
www.change.org/p/to-the-house-of-representatives-and-the-minister-for-social-services-review-the-charitable-status-of-the-australian-christian-lobby
Here are some great parts of the petition letter >>
Could this be the start of something?...
It would take too much space to quote them all, but please read each one in order. It might make more sense, what I am getting at.
It seems to me that the debate we no doubt all want to see happen: 'Why do religions, those who don't do any community work except advancing their own religion, get tax exemption?', could be coming soon.
Or maybe I am wrong?
www.crikey.com.au/2016/04/05/essential-voters-want-to-dump-religious-tax-exemption/
http://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/tax-exemption-for-religious-groups-should-end-poll/2994952/
http://m.theage.com.au/comment/easter-is-a-good-time-to-revisit-taxexempt-status-of-religious-organisations-20160323-gnpzjj.html
^^ Note who wrote the article, it says at the end.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Sex_Party
^^ Yes, the above is actually a real political party. Read the page, trust me. Brief description:
Now for the good stuff...The Australian Sex Party is an Australian political party founded in 2009 in response to concerns over the increasing influence of religion in Australian politics.
The Sex Party is registered at state level in Victoria, where it has parliamentary representation, and in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.
http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/time-to-end-tax-exemptions-for-religious-groups-sex-party-20160313-gnhp5n.htmlReligious institutions should pay more state-based taxes, the Sex Party says, as it pushes to overturn long-standing exemptions.
The party wants new laws to be introduced to force religious groups to take on an increased share of the tax burden.
...But the Sex Party hopes that publicly debating the proposal will generate publicity and attract public support. "It's time to have the debate," Ms Patten said.The party is currently drawing up a bill that would result in greater taxes for religious groups.Ms Patten said she may seek to change the definition of charities to remove promoting religion as a tax-exempt purpose.[the Watchtower of Australia states on the Charities page that their purpose is 'advancing religion'. Same thing... See here:
www.acnc.gov.au/RN52B75Q?ID=91956EB4-F967-4486-8D20-89B6E9A28BCC&noleft=1 ]
She hopes to introduce a bill into Parliament later this year.
www.outinperth.com/sex-party-petition-repeal-acls-charitable-status/
http://m.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/who-are-the-australian-christian-lobby-20160218-gmy67y.html
------------
You can sign their petition here if you wish to do so:
www.change.org/p/to-the-house-of-representatives-and-the-minister-for-social-services-review-the-charitable-status-of-the-australian-christian-lobby
Here are some great parts of the petition letter >>
The signatories of this petition call upon Christian Porter (Minister for Social Services) and Kelly O’Dwyer (Assistant Treasurer) to reform the laws governing the charitable status of basic religious organisations and to review the charitable status of the Australian Christian Lobby in particular.The Australian Christian Lobby claims its primary purpose is advancing religion. Advancing religion means promoting “a belief in a supernatural being, thing or principle and acceptance of canons of conduct which give effect to that belief.”Currently, basic religious organisations like the ACL are entitled to tax-exempt status because advancing religion is presumed to be of public benefit...The Charities Act should be reformed to exclude the advancement of religion from automatic tax exemption.Basic religious organisations should be required to demonstrate the public benefit of their activities. (The law currently deems "prayerful intervention by closed or contemplative religious orders" to be of public benefit!)Currently, basic religious organisations are not only presumed to be of public benefit and given automatic tax exempt status, they also don’t have to submit financial statements to the Charities Commission and they don’t have to comply with the Charities Commission governance standards.These exemptions should be reformed. All charities should be treated the same, with the same financial reporting requirements and the same governance standards.