To: The Washington State House, The Washington State Senate, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
New Tax Payers
This country has a revenue and spending problem. To solve the revenue deficiency portion, it is time to tax the income and property of the clergy throughout the United States.
Why is this important?
As it stands, all churches across the United States unfairly avoid paying federal/state income and property taxes. This is a violation of the 1st Amendment and prevents much needed revenue from reaching federal and state/local governments, especially during these difficult economic times. As a response to the Republicans refusal to normalize taxes on the wealthy, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio stated "we need new tax payers" rather than increase taxes, so taxing the clergy is the logical choice. These churches, particularly mega-churches, make an enormous amount of money that rival the most profitable corporations and they own large swaths of land typically in high value areas without paying a cent in property taxes. We are calling on the federal and state/local governments to tax the clergy as a viable and legal source of revenue.