Republican tax law hits churches

[HAB911]

Republicans have quietly imposed a new tax on churches, synagogues and other nonprofits, a little-noticed and surprising change that could cost some groups tens of thousands of dollars.

Their recent tax-code rewrite requires churches, hospitals, colleges, orchestras and other historically tax-exempt organizations to begin paying a 21 percent tax on some types of fringe benefits they provide their employees.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/republican-tax-law-churches-employees-670362

[beachbum bob]

1. Any tax on churches is a good tax...

[Igel]

15. It's a tax on "wages."

They've basically redefined some free perks as "wages" which are subject to a tax.

The employer can pick it up. Or it can pass it through.

And it's not just churches. That's the "I want to grab your attention and make you outraged by goring your sacred ox" blather. It's any non-profit. So the Houston Symphony will be hit by it; Rice University will be hit by it; the Menil Collection, an art museum, will be hit by it; the Houston Museum of Natural Science will be hit by it. So will the local United Methodist Church, messianic synagogue, conservative synagogue, and Islamic center.

I also have to assume that if the local doctor's offices that are for profit provide free parking in paid parking structures for their staff, they'd be hit by it. In other words, it doesn't sound like it's a non-profit-only thing.

[beachbum bob]

16. Trump republican tax...it's a good thing as the possibilities show

Contrast of this tax and the millionaires on their yachts enjoying where the taxes go to. Look at everything from a tactical viewpoint to win our country back

[RKP5637]

2. Hope they go after these mega churches with their gangster leaders milking the flocks for zillions.

Many in the flocks are too stupid to get what's going on. Send money now, I need another airplane. WTF!

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Not just churches too...this applies to all so called 'fringe' benefits and ...

should have been included as such long ago. I think the IRS finally clarified what the language in the IRS code applied to (this may be one of the attempts by Congress to clarify this issue).

Fringe benefits should be taxable. They are for the rest of us, and has been what seems forever.

Fair is fair.

About time these people paid their fair share of taxes like the rest of us.

[Sanity Claws]

5. Fringe benefits are not taxable for the rest of us

You are not taxed on health insurance through your employer. That is the major fringe benefit that most people get.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. I disagree. Some fringe benefits I had to pay taxes on the excess over a certain amount,

like life insurance and so forth. This was inputted income.

[Sanity Claws]

9. I don't understand your position

In the original message to which I responded, you said "Fringe benefits should be taxable. They are for the rest of us, and has been what seems forever."

In your message in reply to mine, you talked about some fringe benefits being taxable on the excess over a certain amount. So is it your position that all fringe benefits should be taxable?

BTW, the word is "imputed," not "inputted."

[SWBTATTReg]

11. My understanding is that all fringe benefits are taxable. Period. If you got an issue, take it ...

up w/ the IRS. I've always declared it as income when I could to be safe.

[Sanity Claws]

13. Medical insurance is not taxable to the recipient

and the employer is entitled to deduct the amount as a business expense.

How do you declare fringe benefits as income when it is not on your W-2? Your W-2 is your official record of your earnings from your employer.

[DeminPennswoods]

20. Not always true

For federal civil servants, employee FEHB premiums are considered pre-tax income and not part of the W-2 earned income reported. But, once you retire, retiree-paid FEHB premiums just get paid out of your pension regular taxable income.

[Igel]

18. I actually think you're wrong.

We have the choice of electing to pay for our health insurance where I work pre-tax or post-tax.

Moreover, the school district has had a number of free perks to make teaching here more attractive. They put a reasonable amount to health insurance; in some years, most of our compensation increase has gone for health insurance, since it's not taxed. They put some money in an FSA if you chose a health plan that had a donut-hole in it, to get you through the donut hole. And if you don't use all your leave/personal days during the year, they partly pay you a bonus for them into a 401k they set up for each employee.

Since I teach science, I also get a stipend that I don't think is taxable.

It'll be interesting to see if any of those are hit by a tax.

We won't be hit by a tax for our free parking. There's a huge lot and hundreds of students park there, too.

[SWBTATTReg]

19. We had HSAs (health savings accounts) and any amounts over a company specified ...

dollar amount per year (they would publish in advance), would be taxable to the employee (I think because amounts over HSA mandated amounts would be paid for out of after tax employee money).

I never reached these limits as I kept my amounts under company limits (and thus not complicate my tax returns). The health care benefits paid are not taxable (you're right), but all of the other benefits I got dinged for, computed, and then included into 1099s at end of year, parking, excess life insurance, etc.

We didn't have very many unpaid benefits (except health care to the company limits). Oh, and stock options (not excised) were not taxable either. Of course if you exercised the options, then it's a different game.

Thanks.

[exboyfil]

7. These are the ones that are taxed for everyone else

From the article:

The main benefits affected are transportation-related, like free parking in a lot or a garage and subway and bus passes. It also targets meals provided to workers and, in some circumstances, may affect gym memberships.

I love how they are talking about delaying implementation. Isn't it a law now? Would they let Obama get away with it?

[SWBTATTReg]

10. Strange...when I worked for a company we were provided parking but still had to pay ...

for it via a deduction from our pay, and our pay consequently was bumped up to cover the difference paid for the garage parking as well as taxes owed. So we had to pay for the parking as well as the tax portion of the garage parking benefit, but company netted it out for us, so in effect, no negative impact to overall pay.

Been around for a while.

[Sanity Claws]

14. Maybe the deduction was made pre-tax

If so, that means that you did not pay tax on it.

[SWBTATTReg]

17. That's what I meant by netted. Strange and confusing, but there it is...

Perhaps there was a corporate reason why they (the corp) chose to do the garage parking benefit this way, and it was confusing as hell considering it was only $40 a month. Stupid.

Almost not worth the paper it was written on, as well as messing w/ during tax season, but I still took the parking benefit, after waiting for years and years for a parking space.

[Iliyah]

4. Oh well, although I believe

a lot of them did not support shithole.

[Phoenix61]

8. As was pointed out in the article

For for-profit companies the massive tax cuts will more than cover taxes on fringe benefits. For non profits money going to the fed government instead of providing services all to help cover the massive tax cuts the top 1% got. It seems like no one was really told about this change so a lot of the non profits have no idea how to implement it even though they should have been paying them since January. Another Twitler goat rope.

[exboyfil]

12. They will get a Jesus mulligan

I wonder who would have standing to sue to stop it? Anyone.