@smbrnsn preferably “9 ways this is stupid. You won’t believe #6!”

— Andrew S (@GASpriggs) December 16, 2016

Today, Fred Karger asked a provocative question: should the Mormon church lose its tax exemption? To answer that question, he’s asking for certain (anonymous) tips about the church’s use of its money, though implicit in the way he frames the question is that yes, it should. In short, his argument the the church should lose its tax exemption seems to follow these contours:

• The church has, and earns, lots of money.
• The church engages in for-profit businesses and investments with that money, and doesn’t pay taxes on its for-profit earnings.
• The church uses tax-deductible tithing money for lobbying, in contravention of the tax law.

He wants to collect information to ultimately file “the biggest, loudest and most comprehensive IRS challenge to a Church’s tax-exempt status in history.”  [Read more…]