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| *Loan,banking and credit>>>tax exempt |
Is the partisan role of many tax exempt entities in the political and policy making process justified? |
Many tax-free religious / social entities participate in the political process, often trying to influence domestic / foreign policy issues. Some of them take a strictly partisan view on many issues. The entities are spread across the political spectrum. Obviously, it is within their right to do it. However, is it justifiable for such partisan entities to be free from taxation? Most every voter pays taxes regardless of income and wealth. Though non-taxable entities do not have a vote, they otherwise get the best of both worlds -- no taxation as well as free political participation. Seems to me that something is amiss here. I am especially interested in hearing from others who do not think this is a problem and why. If I understand your perspective, it sounds like a twist on one of the fundamental issues that led to the founding of this country. The early colonists, vexed by the oppressive, unilateral policies of the English government demanded, "No taxation without representation!" Instead, it seems your concern with tax-free entities' involvement in governmental affairs amounts to, "No representation without taxation!" If having access to the process of government without the obligation to pay taxes to that government is the issue, then why would you not have the same concern for the millions of ordinary citizens who pay no federal income taxes? Or, what about those individuals who not only pay no federal income taxes, but also receive Social Security payments? Should they be barred from participating in government because their very livelihood depends on continuing payments from the government? What about members of the armed services and other federal employees? They receive wages from the U.S. government far in excess of any taxes they pay. Would you have this seeming conflict of interest invalidate their right to vote or petition government? If we are to tie participation in government to taxation, then how do we deal with corporations? They pay taxes to the government, but would it be wise to allow corporations any more direct influence in the political process than they already exert indirectly? (I know, I know, people pay taxes not corporations. But, governmental policies still profoundly affect businesses.) Certainly the tax-exempt status of the organizations you are concerned about is granted by the very government they sometimes seek to influence. But, if the issues they are most involved in have nothing to do with maintaining or enlarging the tax benefits they enjoy, I'm not sure I see why not paying taxes should be a reason to exclude them from influencing the political process. Just as certainly, I don't think we would want the paying of money (whether taxes or otherwise) become the ticket to get a seat at the table of government. Besides, under existing law tax-exempt organizations can lose their tax-exempt status if they spend too much effort in governmental affairs and pay too little attention to the religious/social purpose that their tax-exempt status is based upon. |
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