Separate Schools from public money
Waldeck - Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - by:Henry Neufeld
church exxemptions	For some time now, the drum beat for tax relief seems to be mostly falling on deaf ears.  One has to wonder if governments really want to design a tax structure that treats every citizen with fairness.  Never-the-less, we want to draw your attention to two concerns where some tax fairness is long overdue.
	Tax exemption of churches – For too long, churches (that is those groups in society that own churches) have been allowed to evade taxes on income, property and investments.  This places an excessive tax burden in the tens of millions of dollars annually on those persons that have no wish to own churches (after all, churches are private property).  Simple logic tells us if some groups in society have a tax exemption, others must pay more than their fair share. Public dollars pumped into religious schools - In Canada, taxpayers already    provide an education system open to every student.  But, some religious groups are not satisfied with our secular public system.  They want schools that are more like churches, each heavily loaded with their very own brand of religious dogma.
not public	It is without a doubt, our education tax dollars are being squandered on blatant religious indoctrination.
fractions	These duplicate religious school systems are adding countless millions to the education tax burden for those taxpayers that are satisfied with one public system of education. This sink hole of public dollars for religious schools grows larger every year as more groups line up for funding.
whole country	In a democratic country like Canada, with a profusion of religious groups, can we escape the fragmentation of society along religious lines, if religious schools continue to proliferate?
negative	In future as this religious demand on our tax dollars grows, the prospect for some tax relief and fairness does not look good.
	Henry Neufeld
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