Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Time To Stop Subsidising Religious Businesses?

It's a simple concept.
Money corrupts. Most faiths even preach so. Religious owned businesses are subsidised by the taxpayer and given an unfair competative advantage. Thats protectionsim pure and simple.

Now i'm not suggesting we remove alltogether tax exemptions from churches. Or prevent them from doing charity work.

But how's this for a simple concept?

If its donations going to ceremonial buildings and ceremonial implements thats purely religious in function and not taxed.

If it's something sold or bought that's business and should be taxed.

Surely thats fair?

And regarding discrimination laws and exemptions a simple line can be drawn too.

If its for admission to, participation in and running of ceremonies and for ceremonial buildings and the beaureacracy directly pertaining to ceremony they can discriminate however they want. But in all charity works and in all businesses these should not be able to discriminate. If a religion wants to be a business all bussiness laws should apply without exception. If a charity then all charity laws should apply.

Surely thats fair too?

It's time to stop the unfair subsidising of businesses by the taxpayer purely because the owner of shops, printers, food companies or whatever else is a religous organisation. That immaterial to the freedom of religion and it's contrary to free trade and fair business practices!

2 comments:

Mike Bunkermeister Creek said...

All private companies should be able to hire and fire whoever they want, without the government telling them who to hire or not fire.

Religious businesses should act like all businesses and hire who they want and for whatever reasons they want.

Freedom to run your business they way you want to run it is important.

Battybattybats said...

A company has an obligation of duty to the shareholders, to the employees and to the community. A business is not a person. A bussiness does not have the rights of a person.

This has been a massive flaw with libertariansim. It is to not just forget but to outright ignore the social contract notions that are the foundation of libertarian thought.

I take it though this means you do agree that the tax exemptions on religious bussiness should rightly be removed?