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Why Should Church Property Be Exempt from Taxation?

About This Item

  • Title: Why Should Church Property Be Exempt from Taxation?
  • Date: 26 May 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01274
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 26 May 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Jamie DeRousse Jason Stacy Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Why Should Church Property Be Exempt from Taxation?." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01274.xml (TEI)
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WHY SHOULD CHURCH PROPERTY BE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION?

In a debate last Monday night, in the Common Council, the points were pretty well presented, as far as the question went, on the matter of taxing a Clergyman’s residence, just the same as any body else’s residence; and it was decided that the said clergyman must “pay.” The decision seems to be a very just one; but we think still more remains to be said.

We must confess we can see no reason why church property, of any kind whatever, should be exempt from the usual taxation. In Brooklyn especially the churches are rich. They have means enough to pay their proportion of the public cost, so onerous upon all the rest—and ought to be ashamed to avoid it. Many of the churches expend large sums in luxuriant decorations for their walls, furniture, &c.; if they can afford this they certainly can afford to pay their taxes.

There is a morbid delicacy about meeting any question where a church is concerned, which would be as well to put out of the way, and get rid of at once. There are hundreds of benevolent institutions, private schools, &c., that certainly have just as good a claim to be exempt, as religious edifices. Yet no one thinks of demanding exemption for them.

Let steps be taken to procure an alteration of the law, and to put church property on the same level, as to taxation, with any other kind of property.

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