Nearly 9K Catholic Churches In The US Were Approved For “Paycheck Protection” Loans - Corona Virus financial hit against the Church

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Nearly 9K Catholic Churches In The US Were Approved For “Paycheck Protection” Loans Corona Virus financial hit against the Church

Nearly 9K Catholic Churches In The US Were Approved For “Paycheck Protection” Loans​

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Posted on 2020/05/8
TAGS: ECONOMICS, NEWS

By John Vibes / Truth Theory

As a part of the US government’s economic relief plan for the coronavirus pandemic, loans were offered to small businesses so they could stay afloat during this difficult time. However, many small business owners who attempted to get funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program found that the money had dried up within a week of the program’s launch. It turned out that large publicly traded corporations were the first to gain access to the loans because they had teams of lawyers on standby who already had a working relationship with the government.

Large corporations like Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse received millions in PPP loans, but were later forced to return the money after a massive public outcry was sparked by their applications. Now the program has come under fire yet again, after it was revealed that over 9,000 Catholic churches were approved for the loans. Catholic churches don’t even pay taxes, which many people feel should disqualify them from the program.

However, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, “ Churches (including temples, mosques, synagogues, and other houses of worship), integrated auxiliaries of churches, and conventions or associations of churches qualify for PPP and EIDL loans as long as they meet the requirements of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and all other PPP and EIDL requirements.”

Churches have defended the decision to apply for the loans by suggesting that it is the only way they can keep people on payroll.

Pat Markey, the executive director of the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference, an association of finance officers from Catholic dioceses told CBS that, “ The PPP isn’t about the federal government assisting houses of worship or churches. PPP is about keeping people on payrolls and a large segment of our society is the not for profit world. And a large segment of that society are churches and houses of worship. And they have people on payrolls too. So, if what this is about is keeping people on payrolls, then we all should have availability to do that.” . . . .

https://truththeory.com/2020/05/08/...-were-approved-for-paycheck-protection-loans/
 
I just posted this in the world news section.

This is so wrong.
 
Why? The lay people who work for the Church pay taxes, and are entitled to this protection just as any other furloughed worker whose employer applied for it.
If they meet the qualifications and are not laying off or terminating their staff, they deserve every penny.
Or would you prefer there be no staff to help Father when things finally open up because your contributions were not enough to keep a full staff paid for 8 weeks or long we? :roll_eyes:
 
From @PaulinVA news section post . . .
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Catholic Parishes get money from PPP World News
I think this is totally wrong.
 
As a taxpayer, if the government is handing out free money, I"m fine with it going to our Catholic churches so they can pay their staff, many of whom very much need their jobs.
 
Not sure why – churches pay all the same employment taxes as other employers – Medicare, Social Security and usually (although not always) unemployment.

They have a payroll, pay payroll taxes – why shouldn’t they get a PPP? Among other things, why shouldn’t their fairly underpaid staffs have the same protections as other employees?
 
I guess I’m saying this because
They have a payroll, pay payroll taxes – why shouldn’t they get a PPP? Among other things, why shouldn’t their fairly underpaid staffs have the same protections as other employees?
Since I posted this I’ve given it a little thought, and while you make good points, I think the Church relying on the government muddies the waters. Not all employment law applies to them, as they can discriminate based of religious belief. So, apparently others disagree with me, but I still it’s a little surprising and not a good idea.
 
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