Max Wallace (director of ANZSA, the Australia New Zealand Secular Association) wants to make a movie. His topic is “The Delusion That We Pay For: How Taxpayers Subsidise Religions Worldwide and Why We Need a Film to Expose This”.

Through tax exemptions and privileges, we pay for the religious to be religious. Every available dollar should instead be used for education and science. Religions are on-shore tax havens for the promotion of supernaturalism. They are not held accountable for the money they make. They don’t pay for police and fire protections, property taxes, or capital gains tax. And let’s not forget their attempts to meddle in government affairs (e.g. Prop 8, though Wallace didn’t mention this explicitly).

Occasionally religions carry out terrorist activities, e.g. Aum Shinrikyo. It was tax-free. This means that the Japanese government was subsidising an organisation committed to its destruction.

He argues that the main consideration for religions is not God. It’s also not political power — it’s money, which confers political power.

According to Wallace, there are some determinations that the tax department uses to decide if a group qualifies for tax exemption under religious provisions. One is that you have to have a congregation of indeterminate size. Another is that you have to pay a stipend to a minister. In his experience, the main criteria for determining a religion is that your belief is supernatural.

It’s been said that nothing is certain except death and taxes. Religions think they can avoid death. They know they can avoid tax.

My take: I don’t have much experience in this area. But I would like to see religions pay their fair share. I did enjoy the talk — a good old rile-’em-up. Also, I’d go see that movie.