Should the Mormon Church Pay Taxes?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) has long been accused of being more of a business and a covert political operation than a religion.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a registered religious organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Tax Code. That means that it does not pay any taxes on its income, which is estimated to be between $8 and $20 billion per year!

The Mormon Church’s 15 million members give a minimum of 10% of their gross income each and every year to the Church in the form of tithing. If your family’s total income for a given year is $125,000, then you must give the Mormon Church at least $12,500.

Most of its $8 to $20 billion each year goes into Church investments. There have been estimates that the Mormon Church uses just 20% of its tithing funds to fund new Temples and cover the Church’s overhead. Begging the question, where do all these billions of dollars go, and should these investments be taxes like any other business?

Much more money goes into Church coffers each year from profits on its vast business empire, gifts and bequeaths to the Church like real estate, stocks, bonds, and money to build Temples. Once a month on Fast Sunday, hundreds of millions of dollars more come pouring into the Mormon Church.

All its holdings and income would make the Mormon Church’s market capitalization bigger than Exxon Mobil and Apple, Inc., two of America’s largest corporations combined.

We will be looking into whether the Mormon Church pays any property taxes, business taxes, sales taxes or income taxes on its massive business portfolio.

The Mormon Church- A Political Powerhouse

The Mormon Church appears to be blatantly violating its IRS tax-exempt status through its active participation in federal, state and local politics along with massive spending on lobbying activities in the U. S. and in other countries all over the world.

The Mormon Church led and its members funded the fight to stop marriage equality in over 25 states since 1995 including the $40 million campaign to qualify and pass California’s Proposition 8 in 2008.

The Church’s Salt Lake City based Public Affairs Department has a fulltime staff of 180 professionals and serves as the Church’s lobbying and political arm. It has offices all over the world where the Church has hundreds of more employees. The Mormon Church even has its own Foreign Affairs Department working in the over 100 countries where it dispatches its 80,000 Mormon Missionaries who work daily to convert others into the Mormon Church.

Mormon Church Inc.

The Mormon Church has amassed between a $1 to $3 trillion global business empire.  It uses its billions of dollars in tax-free income each year to develop and purchase shopping malls, office towers, apartment buildings, amusement parks, newspapers, television and radio stations and is currently developing a city of 500,000 people on ranch land it owns near Orlando, Florida. The Mormon Church owns millions of acres of farmland and cattle ranches. It owns insurance companies, banks, law firms and has billions and billions of dollars in real estate and the stock and bond markets. Its funds are managed by Harvard lawyers and MBA’s who ensure that the Mormon Church makes a huge profit and never pays taxes.

We Need Your Help

We are assembling a team to investigate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is committing tax fraud. Please help us in our effort called MormonTips.com to gather the necessary information on the Church’s business and political activities to warrant filing a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service.

  • We are assembling a team of attorneys, researchers and investigators to help put our case together for the IRS

  • We will retain a top law firm that specializes in tax-exempt law

  • We are partnering with many other national organizations on this project

  • We are running commercials and other ads asking Mormons and ex-Mormons to give us “tips” on potential Mormon Church tax code violations

FRED KARGER (founder)

About Rights Equal Rights 

Since our founding in July 2008 to oppose California’s Proposition 8, Rights Equal Rights (formerly Californians Against Hate), has long been at the vanguard of fighting for truth and transparency.

Through our new project, MormonTips.com we are asking for your help as we conduct the biggest, loudest and most comprehensive challenge to a Church’s tax-exempt status in history.

Please join us in helping uncover and provide evidence that we can take to the IRS.

Thank you!

SUPPORTERS

The following organizations support MormonTips.com effort to fight for Truth and Transparency in the Mormon Church.

Secular Coalition for America

Rights Equal Rights

If you would like to add your organization’s name as a supporter, please contact us at info@MormonTips.com or call 801-831-8245.

Thank you!