[Long article: Australia’s top 10 churches represent about 2.5% of the country’s gross domestic product. Together, they turn over more than $23 billion in revenue...exemptions on income tax, GST, fringe benefits tax etc etc ] Gods business Some religious organisations are taking advantage of lax taxation regulations, to the cost of ordinary Australians. Religion is big business in Australia. If it were a corporation, it would be one of the biggest and fastest-growing in the country, accounting for more than $23 billion in revenue in 2005, employing hundreds of thousands of staff (salaried and volunteers) and wielding unsurpassed political and social clout. For more than 100 years, this hidden giant of the Australian economy has been allowed to expand its business interests — ranging from education, health, welfare, and employment services, to art galleries, business achievers conferences, parking lots, banking and finance, dry-cleaning operations and television studios — by winning a bigger and bigger share of government concessions and grants, getting tax-free status and operating virtually outside the control of the regulatory authorities. In the past year, religious groups have become more business-savvy, many of them applying to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) for exemptions to allow them to offer financial services and products to customers. Religious groups are not required to file income tax returns. They receive exemptions on income tax, GST, fringe benefits tax (of more than $15,000 per employee), stamp duty on property transfers, payroll tax on non-commercial activities, land tax and rates. And unlike other countries, except for Israel and Hungary, religious groups in Australia do not have to pay tax on commercial businesses or pay capital gains tax on the sale of assets... blogs.theage.au/business/executivestyle/managementline/archives/brw2906p042-046.pdf
Posted on: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 06:13:11 +0000
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