- lisaannettestanley
Philosophy of Health CARE Funding. Churches Should Pay Taxes. 4/15/2020
April 15th. Everyone's favorite day: Income Tax Day. Thankfully, the IRS Deadline for US Citizens to file our Income Tax Return has been extended to July 15th this year to accommodate for Economic Recovery during the Global Covid-19 Crisis.
Health Insurance in particular is tied to Income Taxes.
Traditionally, in the three years I've been doing this Blog, any conversation of Income Taxes has been either Income Inequality for Women or Health Insurance.
Perhaps this will be the year I do a deep-dive into 125 Cafeteria Plans for Employee Benefits, so named for Section 125 of the IRS Tax Code. For anyone who receives their Health Insurance at work, this is likely how it's done.
I would welcome anyone to sit through Health Insurance Training Certification & you will quickly learn just how closely closely Health Insurance & Income Taxes are intertwined.
But for the purpose of today's post, I digress.
Shockingly, in my preparation for this Blog Post, I found this:
I was actually looking for information on the previous IRS Budget Cuts & Staff reductions that had already taken place several years ago like this excerpt below from the Center On Budget & Policy Priorities:
Trump Budget Continues Multi-Year Assault on IRS Funding Despite Mnuchin’s Call for More Resources
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget has been cut by 18 percent since 2010, after adjusting for inflation, and the agency has lost roughly 13,000 employees — around 14 percent of its workforce. These cuts have harmed customer service, frustrated honest taxpayers, and undermined critical enforcement efforts to combat tax avoidance and growing identity theft. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, whose department includes the IRS, appears to understand that these cuts are misguided, stating at his confirmation hearing:
Stunning that an already-pared down IRS is taking yet another budgetary hit from the Trump Administration - who at one point vowed to abolish the Agency all together.
I can remember several years ago prior to these Staff Reductions strolling right into the Federal Building on the Southwest Freeway - many times - with stacks & bags & boxes of receipts to ask for help with preparing my Return.
In those days, you could do that.
What better way to have an error-free Tax Return than having the IRS do it for me???
And why not?
People think of the IRS as this big scary entity that can garnish your wages & repossess your car & confiscate your house to pay off back taxes.
And they can do that - if you don't work with them.
So work with them.
The truth is, they are people just like us.
On years when I owed but couldn't pay, they let me claim an "Uncollectable Status" until I could afford to get caught up.
PEOPLE are Individuals - even IRS Agents.
I can't say it enough.
As I mentioned earlier, Income Inequality was actually the original point of this Web Page at Revolving Door HR: a nod to how hard it is for WOMEN in the Job Market.
The over-whelming majority of Health Insurance Agents are 1099 Self Employed. It's fun.
Passage of Legislation like the Equal Rights Amendment would go a long way into stopping sexist, Misogynistic work-place harassment like in this Internal Sales Memo that ran from April 1st - April 15th in 2016.
This is my typical Income Tax- Day Post for as long as I've been doing this.
This is NOT Ok. (I've linked the image below)
Income Tax Day in this country has long been a time to declare open season on WOMEN, when in fact, I'd be willing to wager that our Tax Codes were WRITTEN BY MEN.
The same MEN likely responsible for giving Churches Tax-Exempt Status.
Sexism & Misogyny have been around since the early days of the Church.
And it's getting worse.
Recently my Web Page has had a major face lift, that is still in progress, to reflect possible SOLUTIONS to the war on American Women.
This includes RECOGNITION OF THE FACT that the Church Channel has become one great big giant FREE POLITICAL AD for the Republican Party.
It also includes the question of of Balancing the Federal Budget to pay for things like Health Care.
Not only are this Nation's Churches meddling in our Elections but they're doing it Tax-Free.
Apparently Taxation of Churches is not a new idea.
Houston has several Mega Televangelists in our area. The first time I had set foot inside our former Basketball Arena that is now Lakewood Church it was for Free Income Tax Preparation.
Well how nice of them.
The Theory behind giving Tax-Exempt Status to Churches is that they give back to the Community.
They don't.
We have a Furniture Store in our area that's doing more good work in Houston during times of Crisis.
https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/why-churches-dont-pay-taxes
In the meantime, Thank GOD Tax Day is 7/15 this year.
Can I get an Amen, GIRLS???
Related Pages & Posts
30 Days of Discrimination Towards WOMEN
Tax Dollar Allocation: It's Why We Vote
Health CARE Funding Philosophy
Separation-of-Church-State-Is-it-Time-for-Churches-to-Pay-Their-Fair-Share-of-TAXES
Like my ideas? Seeking Corporate Sponsors, Corporate Partners & Like-Minded Individuals to find REAL SOLUTIONS to massive problems like how to Balance the Federal Budget. I'm not building a CHURCH asking for a 10% TAX FREE Donation of your hard-earned Dollars. Join me Here for more information or to give to a worthy-cause.