They only like that phrase when it benefits them. You want churches to pay taxes? Sure, but we want prayer back in schools and at least 1 hour of bible study per day. I think thats a fair trade.
Problem with this is who's prayer? If I worship satan can I say a satanic prayer before class? Equal rights and practicality says too many religions, we'd spend all day giving each one a prayer and no learning at all would get done (not saying much gets done as it is).
There should be a Catholic priest child molestation tax!!! If one were enacted, the U.S. would never have another deficit.
I agree that anyone working for a church and collecting income, such as a pastor, should be taxed just like the rest of us. And that includes his home, vehicles, etc. if the church picks that stuff up. However, there are churches out there, such as the one I go to, where no one receives payment for services rendered. All the money collected goes towards things like humanitarian aid, in addition to keeping the lights on, etc. What would be the point in taxing an entity like that? Take money from the church, who was going to use that money to try and better society, and give it to the government, so they can try and better society with it? Like they've demonstrated any competency at doing that in the past? I'm a bit more libertarian in my political leanings, so I'd rather not see the government, which always has been and always will be corrupted by incentives and conflicts of interest, be the main source of welfare distribution in this world. While churces aren't perfect, I've always been impressed by the outreach programs and humanitarian aid they give freely to the world. Government should only provide the meagerest of safety nets, let's go back to a time when neighbors helped neighbors.
You'd probably be less impressed with the proportion of their intake that actually goes to charitable efforts when compared to that of legitimate secular charities. As I understand it, and in the aggregate, church overhead seems to always consume the lion's share of whatever money comes in. As for neighbors helping neighbors, aside from small towns, most people don't even know their neighbors. And just look at the religious Right here at ET that smirks at the mere idea of a safety net -- this from the bible thumpers! Charming idea, however, "neighbors helping neighbors." But I suspect it's more Disney than reality, especially where financial needs are concerned.
If the church really did give all money as humanitarian aid, etc., then they have nothing to worry about. Charitable donations and whatnot should be deductible just like any other corporation. Someone posted an article on ET once about how some government spent $20,000 to renovate a giant cross. I'd be outraged if a non-tax paying entity was using my tax dollars for their use.