Pre-Budget release written for the Atheist Foundation on 22.4.16, prior to their new freelance journalist commencing in May. AFA’s “edited” version is attached below.
Tax-free religion opposed by ‘secular’ majority
Scott Morrison will hand down the budget on 3rd May with one glaring omission that “clearly offends Australia’s new silent majority,” says president of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, Kylie Sturgess.
“It’s not simply the government ignoring ‘revenue‘ as the nation’s central problem — and refusing to close a dozen tax loopholes available only to the very well-off — it’s more elementary than that,” she said.
A national poll in March showed 64 per cent of Australians oppose religion being tax-exempt.
“Australia is now predominantly ‘religion-neutral’ — yet hundreds of diverse church denominations avoid an estimated $31 billion in tax each year, simply because of the historical anomaly of ‘advancing religion’.
“Religions run hundreds of private enterprises in schools, hospitals, aged care, and a variety of other private businesses — none of which pay income tax, GST, rates, car registration and a raft of other taxes.
“This revenue short-fall must be met by the nation’s honest tax-payers.”
Ms Sturgess said all “genuine charities” should indeed be tax-free, “but we have no idea of just how much of the vast revenue collected by churches is actually spent on bona fide services to people actually in need.”
The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) administers over 60,000 charities with almost 60 per cent being secular organisations.
Religious institutions are not legally required to keep financial records, unlike non-religious charities.
“There’s no transparency and in a secular country, where only 8 per cent of the community go to church, it’s time this religious rort is finally stopped.
“In this period of budgetary crisis the federal should be pressured to collect tax on the plethora of lucrative church businesses.
“In the 21st century it’s also unacceptable that religions are exempt from anti-discrimination laws and from workplace legislation that allows them pay below-award wages and enforce unfair working conditions.”
Ms Sturgess said that all these factor are compounded as religions become more politicised — endorsing conservative candidates and launching aggressive and often dishonest media campaigns on social issues such as same-sex marriage and voluntary euthanasia.
“If religions wish to become politicised, under the guise of ‘religious freedom’, then they must be financially transparent, factually honest, and pay their fair share of tax — as do all hard-working Australian,” she said.
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Plain Reason is pleased to have been instrumental in finally getting a part-time freelance journalist on-board with AFA, starting May 2016. As the peak body for Australian atheism it is critical that AFA challenges all the Christian lobbies that dominate social policy in mainstream media. It’s fair to say that AFA has not had a high media profile.
Our argument is that with media releases — like this — it’s not surprising that media do not respond. They want releases in a certain format, and it’s important to also follow up by phone with editors and radio producers to increase the strike-rate — particularly for radio interviews.
Plain Reason wrote the above release, on request, prior to the new journalist joining AFA. But our guess is the new President has had a go at ‘improving’ the release. While most of the text remains intact, the paragraphs have been juggled to the point of being disjointed. It also lacks impact, by removing all the “direct quotes” — the style and format preferred by mainstream media. The headline is rather clumsy and the lead paragraph confusing. We look forward to the new journalist at AFA changing the culture and providing the national atheist community with a clear and well-articulated media voice on all secular policy. AFA version: And exactly what is Kylie saying here?
Religious Charity! What Is It Good For? Absolutely… We Don’t Know?
Scott Morrison will hand down the budget on 3rd May with one glaring omission — the nation’s irreligious. what?
A national poll in March showed 64 per cent of Australians oppose religion being tax-exempt. Yet hundreds of diverse church denominations avoid an estimated $31 billion in tax each year, simply because of the historical anomaly of ‘advancing religion’.
The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) administers over 60,000 charities with almost 60 per cent being secular organisations. Whereas a number of religions run hundreds of private enterprises in schools, hospitals, aged care, and a variety of other private businesses – none of which pay income tax, GST, rates, car registration and a raft of other taxes.
Religious institutions are not legally required to keep financial records, unlike non-religious charities, leaving us with a huge question mark as to what is going on and how much is being spent on services to people in need.
It is astounding that religions, who endorse conservative candidates and launch aggressive and often dishonest media campaigns on social issues such as same-sex marriage and voluntary euthanasia, have this much political sway – let alone financial leeway.
When only an estimated 8 percent of the Australian community regularly attend church services, in this period of budgetary crisis, the federal government should reconsider it’s approach to the organisations that are exempt from anti-discrimination laws and from workplace legislation that allows them to pay below-award wages and enforce unfair working conditions.
Financial transparency and paying a fair share of tax – we should expect more from Australia’s religious institutions and more from our country’s leaders.
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