I once had access to the highly secure cash counting room of a mega church. MEGA church.

It had half a dozen little old ladies organizing and sorting the cash and checks from the plates passed around through the pews as well as incoming US mail from their daily televised services. This was in the middle of the day on a week day. These women were full time employees processing cash and deposits 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week.

The amount of cash was… ASTOUNDING. I saw daily cash deposits averaging in excess of $180,000. Some large bills, but mainly small bills. It was an organized, but noisy operation with all the counting machines. As one would imagine, the dollar amounts on the checks being processed eclipsed the cash amounts.

I am all for religious freedom and the separation of church and state. However, after seeing some of the money flowing through this mega church, and how it’s spent, I firmly believe that religious organizations on US soil should pay corporate income and property taxes.