Later this month, voters in Louisiana will decide on four proposed constitutional amendments, one of which—Amendment 2—would overhaul the state's tax code.
Tony Spell, a far-right pastor who made a name for himself fighting Louisiana's COVID restrictions, is vehemently opposed to Amendment 2 on the grounds that it could lead to the elimination of property tax exemptions for churches.
On Tuesday night, Spell appeared on MAGA pastor Shane Vaughn's podcast, where he declared that churches can never be required to pay taxes because everything they own actually belongs to God.
"Article 7 of the Louisiana state constitution protects our religious freedoms," Spell said. "There is a movement in Louisiana today that wants to erase our constitution, delete our constitutional rights, and instead move it to a statute which subjects us to 2/3 of the vote in the House of Representatives."
"Amendment 2 removes the church's and non-profits' constitutional protections and instead puts them at the statute [level]," he added. "What does this mean for us? A 501c3 is granted federal exemption from taxes, but that also grants you, in the state of Louisiana, exemption from property taxes. So we don't pay property taxes as a church."
"The mainstream thought in the media is now, 'Well, why should a church be granted a preference over a secular institution?'" Spell continued. "If a secular institution has to pay taxes, property taxes, then the church should."
"Number one, how do you tax what isn't ours?" Spell said. "The church belongs to God."
"It's God's church," Spell insisted. "He bled for it. He died for it. Therefore you can't tax something that isn't mine to begin with. I'm a steward of what God has entrusted to us."
"One sovereign entity cannot tax another sovereign entity," Spell declared. "The church is sovereign. Just like the United States can't tax Australia—they're two sovereign entities, leave them alone—that's where the church is. We are not equal to secular organizations or entities. This land belongs to God. I am a steward of what God has entrusted me with."
