This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition End tax-free status of ALL religions. Their income is the same as any business!
Religion, whether you believe in it or not, is a business. It always has, and always will be. Based on an estimated income from the Catholic church alone of $170bn p.a. even a tax rate of 5% would reap $8,500,000,000! This is ONE religion in ONE year..! If there is a God, wouldn't he want this.....?
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As somebody who is fundamentally non-religious, I have always been amazed at the tax-free statuses of religious organisations. Even if God IS real, why should his representatives not pay tax? Their reason: They provide crucial social services, and that 200 years of church tax exemptions have not turned America into a theocracy. Seeing as every invasion is punctuated with "God Bless America" I'd guess it already is one... Hospitals also provide social service, they're taxed; why not religions..?
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We can't accept your petition in its current form as it does not call for a clear action from the UK Government and Parliament. Your petition seems to be calling for action in the USA. You could start a petition calling for the Government to end tax-free status for religious organisations in the UK.
If you are concerned about the tax-free status in the USA, you could start a petition on the White House petitions website: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/
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