by Dave Roberts » Fri Dec 12, 2014 8:52 am
I did a mental rolodex flip through all the parsonages and ministers' homes in my area. The largest I can think of is less than 2,500 square feet. None are located in gated communities or in highly restricted areas. Most are nice home, often located on or near church property. Many of them are very dated having been built in the 1950's or 1960's, and some need major repairs. I live next door to another Baptist pastor, and while it is a nice neighborhood, there are few houses here that would top a $200,000 price tag. My friend, Jim Sommerville, pastor of First Baptist in Richmond, chose to live modestly in the Fan District of Richmond in walking distance from his church.
Actually, the cure for this is to tax all ministerial income as an ordinary employee benefit and eliminate the Social Security fiction of self-employment. Then churches would pay Social Security on the minster's salary and ministers would pay their half of this. Housing would then be treated as ordinary income. Ministers pay more than their share by paying self-employment tax on housing and utilities as well as salary. The tax code needs to be cleaned up.