AUSTRALIA
Daily Telegraph
Brian Morris
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull swept many budget options off the table — both revenue and expenditure — but glaring opportunities for bold new revenue measures were never considered.
Religion is a multi-billion dollar entrepreneurial colossus that pays virtually no tax, and the extent of this tax-free bonanza helps create a budgetary black hole.
A new national poll in April shows 64 per cent of Australians think religions should now be taxed. People are fully aware of the wealth owned by big churches — not the hard-pressed charities — but the large religious institutions and the corporate enterprises they run.
While two-thirds of the nation support the notion of taxing religious businesses, only seven per cent think they should remain tax-exempt, while 13 per cent say they simply don’t know.
Much has contributed to the public’s view that the big churches now operate well beyond the traditional parish precinct. There’s disquiet over revelations from the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse, the Vatican Bank scandals and the rank politicisation of religion across a raft of contemporary social issues.
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