From: Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 21:17:31 +0800
To: cypherpunks@ssz.com (Cypherpunks Distributed Remailer)
Subject: Re: church of crypto anarchy (Re: Taxing Churches for their views? Bad idea. (fwd)) (fwd)
Message-ID: <199711061315.HAA23838@einstein.ssz.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Forwarded message:

> Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 08:52:15 GMT
> From: Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk>
> Subject: Re: church of crypto anarchy (Re: Taxing Churches for their views? Bad idea. (fwd)) (fwd)

> Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com> writes:
> > Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk>
> > > Seems to me that the distinction that churches are exempt from taxes
> > > partly hinges on their non-profit, or not-for-profit status.
> > 
> > No, it stems from the fundamental democratic axiom of seperation of church
> > and state. If the churches pay taxes they aren't seperate. 
> 
> I pay taxes, I am separated from the state.

Do you hold US citizenship? If so then, no, your assertion of seperation
from the state is incorrect. It's that pesky "We the people..." thing.
If you want to be considered seperate from the US *AND* you don't want to
pay US taxes then renounce your US citizenship and move to another country
*OR* figure out a way to become your own 1 person church.

Like it or not that's the way it works.

> > If the state supports churches they aren't seperate.
> 
> If the state doesn't tax churches they are subsidizing them relative
> to other sorts of organisations.  This is surely a form of support.

Subsidize means to pay, the government does not pay as a rule pay the
churches anything, that would violate the seperation clause as well.


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