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Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair com

Bamby

New member
Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair com

I tried to look into it due to curiosity but I failed to find a way to fact check the claims as stated. If Mule Man were still with us he would have likely known but some of you others may know also.

Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair competition.

Amish & Mennonite do not pay 15.3% Self employment tax, workman's comp and unemployment insurance. They form partnerships including all employees as partners and claim 4029 exemption from Social Security under religious grounds.

In construction, workman's comp insurance often exceeds 30% of wages paid in some specialties such as roofing. Unemployment comp insurance is often 10% of the first $7K to $8K if wages.

Add the 15.3% SE tax and other contractors who are non-Amish can't compete. Amish have left the farms and have entered into many business ventures with an unfair advantage.

In addition, they normally have many children working and have child tax credits offset their income taxes.

Posted on 6/2/2019, 8:21:24 AM by tired&retired
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

I believe it.
When it comes to the Amish, they're greedy, often dishonest and supposedly don't want to be thought of as "in this world" except for when it comes to $$$$.
 

Bamby

New member
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

But it's no wonder that they're into so many things. Skirting all those taxes is a huge advantage that would or would could cripple any business attempting to compete against them in any market.
 

road squawker

Active member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

Around here, W Tn, there are many Amish.
If I own a house, it must have sanitary services.
The health department will declare a home "uninhabitable" without water and septic/sewer capability.

Amish homes are exempt from the law.
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

Around here, W Tn, there are many Amish.
If I own a house, it must have sanitary services.
The health department will declare a home "uninhabitable" without water and septic/sewer capability.

Amish homes are exempt from the law.
Here is an interesting article.

Judge: Amish not exempt from sewage treatment rules


https://www.postbulletin.com/news/p...cle_8aa429e2-683f-11e9-8b95-cfcb1b2c4a94.html
 

jimbo

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

Churches in general pay no property tax. Real, personal, or otherwise.
Churches run businesses such as day care centers, bingo parlors, and other businesses out of these tax free buildings.
Churches pay no income tax on these business endeavors.
Church leaders pay no property tax on their residences, nor income tax on the portion of their income allotted to the residency.

I don't think this problem is exclusively an Amish problem.
 

road squawker

Active member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

Actually the IRS form listed in the OP , is the wrong form.

Amish people use IRS form 4361 to avoid taxes for religious reasons.

The key legal phrase being: "A member of a religious order who has not taken a vow of poverty..."
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: Amish & Mennonite construction workers claim exemption from Taxes creating unfair

The article seems to CONFIRM that SOME taxes are NOT paid but also indicates that SOME taxes ARE paid. Its from 2007 but probably still accurate.

https://lancasteronline.com/opinion...cle_023cf1de-0e5d-503d-90dd-0ddb18a1e926.html
Amish not pay taxes? Better get your facts right
RYAN ROBINSON Mar 12, 2007

Amish are freeloaders.

They don't pay taxes or contribute to the economy outside their little, closed circles.

They don't pay in to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, but benefit from them.


Their buggies carve up roads they don't have to pay to repair.

A man I met while covering an event nearly a year ago spewed those falsehoods and more about the Amish.

Soon after that, I overheard two elderly women in a store - it was before last October's Amish shootings - spouting the same nonsense.

They were not city people who just moved to this area, but lifelong residents of Lancaster County.

Frankly, their feelings stunned me and I've been simmering to write this column ever since.

It's tax time - high time to set the record straight about Amish and taxes.

I talked to an Amish leader and researched what I already knew: Amish pay taxes.

Amish pay school and property taxes just like you and me, and since most live on 50- to 100-acre farms, they pay more than their fair share.

Farmers only use a fraction of the local government services like schooling and police that their property tax dollars pay for, while non-farmers on average use more in services than what their taxes cover.

Amish take it to another level, because they don't send their children to public schools.

Amish taxes help us build schools and football stadiums, and buy desks, computers, musical instruments, sports uniforms and supplies, etc. for our children. Then they build one-room schools to educate their own.

Ask your superintendent what school district budgets would look like if the thousands of Amish children in the county all of a sudden showed up for public education.

Local police departments will tell you Amish generally don't break the law as often as non-Amish, and they certainly don't report as many crimes committed against them.

Back to taxes. Amish pay earned income taxes to Uncle Sam.

An Amish spokesman said they take very seriously the Bible verse that says to give Caesar what is Caesar's.

Amish are exempt from paying taxes for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because they have waived the right to receive benefits.

They pull together as a community to pay medical bills.

Some Amish businesses employ non-Amish, so some of them pay Social Security taxes.

Also, you can't claim a religious exemption unless you are a member of the church, so some young Amish pay Social Security taxes for a few years.

An Amish spokesman said very few ever accept a Social Security payment.

There are other exceptions, but they are rare.

What about the common gripe that Amish don't buy gas, so they don't pay their fair share for road upkeep.

One Amish spokesman recently told me that for every mile Amish travel in horse and buggies, they go two in gas-powered vehicles like you and me.

Many of the 300 or so Amish taxi drivers here will tell you that through their charges, Amish do pay for gas.

The idea of Amish not contributing to the economy or their communities is ridiculous.

Yes, many shop mostly in Amish stores but they also patronize non-Amish businesses and yard sales for their needs.

A large Amish family spent a week vacationing at Raystown Lake at the same time as my family this past summer.

While they may be more liberal than some Amish, they wore modern-looking bathing suits, played volleyball and snacked on candy bars and chips.

Amish certainly make and sell goods for the rest of us.

That milk you're drinking? It might have come from an Amish dairy.

The sheds outside the homes in your development? They might be Amish built.

Amish help put out fires by volunteering at local fire departments.

Don't get me started on how critical they are to the county's tourism industry.

We are lucky to live in a place with Amish as our neighbors, on many levels.

Next time you hear someone say otherwise, yank a straw hat down over their mouth.

CONTACT US: rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032. The Voices column is written by a rotating team of New Era staffers.
 
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