This story is a week or so old, but hey, what do you want? I'm not Reuters or something. Anyway, here's a town being put out of business by too many churches.
Stafford, population 19,227, is the largest city in Texas without a property tax, and it depends on sales taxes and business fees for revenue. Nonprofits have been attracted by its rapid growth and minimal deed restrictions. "It's thrown everything out of balance, plus providing zero revenue. Somebody's got to pay for police, fire and schools," City Councilman Cecil Willis said.In 2003, around the time the 45th church settled in, city leaders began looking for a way to slow the pace of construction. Public meetings were held; "we had people of different religions attending, people in their religious garb, Buddhists in their orange gowns and whatever else, talking about this very openly," [Mayor Leonard] Scarcella said. ...
"As best as we've been able to determine, the overwhelming majority of people who attend here don't even live in Stafford; they're coming from everywhere else," Willis said. Elsewhere includes Houston, about 15 miles northeast, and nearby Sugar Land.
"I don't hate God. I'm not against America and apple pie," Willis said. "We just have to protect what's left for commercial development."
And of course every church has the same convenient justification for moving to property-tax free Stafford:
Willis said he asked the last six applicants why they wanted to build a church in Stafford. "Every one of them said they prayed about it, and God said to come here," he said. "I can't compete with that, so here we are."
Strange that God wouldn't tell them to build a building in the city where the church members live.
The fact of the matter is that churches and other charities are tax free-riders, meaning that they enjoy all the same benefits that taxpayers do, but don't have to bear any of the cost. That isn't necessarily a bad idea, but the system will collapse when the number of free-riders grows too large in proportion to the contributors. The obvious solution for Stafford is to institute a property tax or some other tax that will hit charities and individuals alike, possibly offset by an elimination of the local sales tax.
You may not agree, but I always roll my eyes when people say God told them to do something. I believe God talks to people through the scriptures, not through personal revelation. If I were slightly less concerned about being rude, I would ask, "You mean you prayed, and then studied the scriptures to see what God says?" I think if you're trying to find out what God wants you to do, and the scriptures don't address it or provide philosophical guidelines to follow, then God probably doesn't really care which way you choose. For example, I always get exasperated when people say "God wants me to cut my hair short," or "God wants me to change jobs," or "God wants us to move our church to Stafford."
By all means, evaluate your choices in light of scripture... whether the person you want to marry is godly and will lead to a closer relationship to Jesus, whether your haircut will somehow help you be a better witness, whether a change in job will benefit your family, whether moving your church will provide more than a simple financial advantage. But in cases where the choices are equally in accordance with God's word and will, feel free to make the choice yourself.
Tax law is state law. A Texas city can't decide on its own to impose a special tax on churches. Maybe a city could pull in its boundaries or cut back its services. But eliminating tax exemptions isn't an option.
John S.: Well said, I completely agree.
BB: I'm not sure I understand. Lots of cities have their own taxes, from income to property to sales. Why couldn't Stafford, e.g., eliminate its sales tax and replace it with a tax that would apply to churches also? Unless you're arguing that there's a state law that makes charities immune to all taxes at every level. Maybe that's the case. Call it a "sewer fee" then or something. They just need to be creative.
Cities aren't sovereigns. They have limited powers. I've never heard of a city that had the power to levy taxes on its own. Cities may only levy taxes as allowed by state law. Many states grant to cities or counties some measure of the state's taxing authority. For example, in Texas the state allows cities to add up to 2% to the state sales tax, and the cities get to keep that money. A bigger example is that Texas counties have the authority to determine the value of property subject to the Texas property tax, and that power allows them to effectively raise taxes by inflating valuations.
But that discretion exists only because the state gave it to the cities and other political subdivisions. The State of Texas has not given its cities the option of ignoring the exemption that churches enjoy from the property tax.
BB: Ah, I see your point. So cities that have taxes can only do so if the states specifically allow it? The state in question doesn't have to specifically disallow, by default? St. Louis has an income tax, which I think is somewhat anomalous... other MO cities don't seem to have one.