Holy Land Experience theme park receives property tax exemption
1 July 2009 by Stardust
I read this over at You Made Me Say It and really ticks me off. How does The Holy Land Experience theme park retain its tax exempt status? By offering free admission just one day a year, however, they won’t tell what day is free. The Trinity Broadcast Network which owns the park and the ministry rather not publicize the whole free day deal. And this isn’t a church, is it? It’s an amusement park with a religious theme!
Holy Land free day still a mystery
Holy Land Experience doesn’t want you to know when it schedules its required free day each year out of concern over a possible “uncontrollable situation.”
At least that’s the conclusion to be drawn by a letter the religion-based theme park sent to the office of Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan.
Donegan asked the park for documentation of its free days after I reported earlier this month that the park gave out conflicting information about the day.
Holy Land, owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network, is required to drop its normal $35 ticket price and offer free admission one day each year in exchange for a property-tax exemption that saves it about $300,000 annually, according to a 2006 state law designed to guarantee the exemption.
Pretty sweet deal for TBN, huh?
this legislation smacks of the exact kind of catering to special interests that keeps property off the tax rolls while taxpayers get nothing in return.
1 July 2009, on 8:42 pm
There should be no such priveledge as a tax exepmt status for any religion, but this is beyond the pale. why are there a seperate set of rules for these fucks and their political agenda? I wonder how much we could pay for if we started collecting taxes on all these “institutions”?
Zappa: TAX THE CHURCHES. TAX THE BUSINESSES RUN BY THE CHURCHES.
1 July 2009, on 8:48 pm
Could Six Flags get a tax exempt status if they have a free day? I don’t think so. I think about the high property taxes we pay in our neighborhoods and then see all the expensive church buildings that have been built in our town since we have moved here and think about all the money the town would get if churches paid their share of taxes. They have their gorgeous “country club” churches on large plots of land all fabulously landscaped and don’t pay a dime of taxes, and I know from my husband being on the board at a couple of churches we went to while we were still god botherers, these churches pay a very small proportion of their income to charity and community projects. Most of the money goes to the pastor’s salary and benefits and to the upkeep and cushy improvements to the “country club.” Maddening. . .
2 July 2009, on 6:05 am
Perhaps someone should go to the trouble of calculating how much tax these snake-oilers are saving, collectively, state-by-state, then publish the info.
I suspect that when the locals see info like ‘Churches in your state are exempt from paying $xxxx million per year. That’s $xxx per person which could be used for healthcare, education etc.’ If the article then went on to explain exactly how the church spent its money…. oh wait, they’re exempt from audits too aren’t they?
Maybe the first line of attack is right there, annual audits like every other charity or NGO.
2 July 2009, on 7:54 am
This is one where I just don’t know what to say. Churches themselves shouldn’t be tax exempt, but they are. However, because this theme park theoretically has one day a year where they don’t charge admission, they save 300k in taxes a year. I rather doubt that they get over 8500 visitors a day (which is about what they would have to get on free day to make up the difference). Of course, unless the food and drink stands, restaurants, and everything else is free, they’re still going to come out ahead, because people will just spend the admission money on that instead.
Screw it, I’m just going to find out how many people I need to live under my roof to declare it a church. Worst case scenario, my property is tax exempt. Best case, people realize how idiotic religious tax exemption is.
2 July 2009, on 12:42 pm
Well Inari, you can always just have 18+ children. Because of your irresponsible breeding practice and inability to actually care for all 18+ children financially, the government will grant you a tax exempt status by declaring you a church.
2 July 2009, on 1:16 pm
It’s WAY past time for society to recognize that ALL Religions are nothing more than blatantly scamming, totally bullshit, “confidence rackets”; indeed, dangerous to everyone’s mental health…especially children.
I think Jacgues Hughes nailed it regarding audits…as a necessary first step.
And then, start taxing these everyone fuckers BIG TIME for all the extremely privileged locations they have their humongous bullshit temples on. As I’ve mentioned before on GifS; there’s a REALLY big, recently built, fancy Mosque about 4 blocks from me; with an adjoining, equally fancy ‘mansion’ on the property. (No doubt for the fucking “Imam”, I’m assuming.)
Traditionally, most Religions have the very best locations in every town…high on very prominent hills, away from flooding, etc. In Chicago, some of them are in ideal downtown locations; right in the midst of high profile business districts. One, if I recall correctly, is right across the street from the famous Hancock building, on Michigan Ave.
Basically, it’s about getting all the boneheaded, fucking politicians much more honest and realistic…getting their brainwashed heads out of the Dark Ages.
Yeah…I know…dream on!
As we all know…any fucking Bible toting asshole scam artist can become an automatically respected “Reverend”, and open shop on almost any street. In the poorer big city neighborhoods, there are lots of those storefront churches…almost on every block.
One can only imagine the increase in tax revenue, nationwide, if the law was changed regarding religious bullshit!
3 July 2009, on 7:28 am
My guess is that the “free day” will be decided on after the FEMA has issued an evacuation order during a hurricane.
I’ve heard recently that a number of the “Big Box” Skydaddy Superstores are in financial straits because of decreased donations. After all, tithing 10% of nothing will not pay the bills.
3 July 2009, on 7:35 am
I’m almost embarassed to be from Orlando. Of course the religious fucktards who are involved in this or live outside of Florida will just say “its a religious organization, they shouldnt pay taxes!”
What those monumental jackasses dont realize is that its not a religious organization. Its not religious anything.
ITS A GODDAMNED AMUSEMENT PARK! HELLO!!! ITS FUCKING ORLANDO!!! DISNEY WORLD ANYONE?! UNIVERSAL STUDIOS?! SEA WORLD? WET & WILD?
The only reason Orlando exists beyond a fucking dot on the map marking another swamp in central FL is because tourists go there to spend tons of money on fake, plastic, make believe ENTERTAINMENT. Hell, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N’sync, Otown…they all are products of the corporate fake-out known as Orlando. Anyone remember that scum sucking clown Lou Pearlman? The swindler behind all that shitass music? Anyone remember how they tracked his fat ass down and locked him up for massive fraud? Those churches should be next.
Its obvious to anyone with half a brain and a pulse that anything and everything in Orlando fucking Florida is fake, plastic, imaginary, and most importantly a RIP OFF. The assholy land park is no different except that its a church organization that cashes in, not a board of executives controlling the Rat.
Its actually quite appropriate that the dead-jew-on-a-stick club chose Orlando for that ridiculous park. Everyone knows its a town built on utter make-believe…sorry for the rant. I’ve been on the road a lot and the first thing I see when I log onto GifS is a blog about something absolutely asenine in my old stomping grounds…what a way to catch up