Shalom All:

Enforcing an old tax strikes some as wrong state tells churches to pay up
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050628/NEWS/506280309/1001
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South Dakota's use tax is not new - it's been in existence since 1939 - and churches have never been exempt. Neither are individuals, who, according to the law, should be paying tax on clothes or other items bought out of state. In reality, few actually do.

"I think it's opening up a whole can of worms," Nesdahl said. "If you identify a church as a business and they have to fall under all regulations, we're looking at a different church. We're sort of flying in the face of tradition."

But a state official said the state merely is trying to make sure churches and other nonprofits are meeting their tax obligations.

"We're not looking at churches as businesses," Page said. "(But) churches have never been exempt from sales or use tax, when they purchase items like a business."
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So ... the challenge is ... how not to look like a "business"!  But do churches today in the USofA know how to do that?

Dianne
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( talsmawi@centurytel.net for flow chart of Revelation Seals. )