The Greek Orthodox Church, and our big, fat, Greek-style economic funeral?

Senator Cameron: That is more accurate, because the Productivity Commission, with all their economists, could not tell us … (further) … there is a complete lack of transparency in terms of the expenditure of public money … (further) the Productivity Commission analysis of the cost to the public purse in supporting charities … ranges anywhere between $1B to $8B …

Ms Roussel (ATO): In the tax expenditure statement, the itemization for charities in unquantifiable … there is no official number.

About the number and accountability of religions:

Senator Xenophon: … what quantum, what number, of religions would you say are out there whereby, unless they become visible to you from some of their activity, you would not know they existed as such?

Mr Hardy (ATO): [religious organisations] … do not have to lodge an income tax return. If they have no reason to have a dealing with the tax office in any other capacity then they have no dealing with the tax office.

Senator Xenophon: Do they have to advise you of their self-assessment [that they are not taxable]?

Mr Hardy (ATO): No. Self-assessment is that. They self-assess.

Senator Xenophon: In other words, they are left alone. They have self-assessed and you do not have any reason to monitor them whatsoever.

Mr Hardy (ATO): No. The legislation does not provide for that. They are potentially invisible to us as a taxation entity.

So, there it is in black and white. No government official really knows how much religious

charities are costing Australia or even how many of them exist. The Productivity Commission, the ATO and the Treasury have chosen not to research this. Why? Nobody knows how many religions are 'self-assessing'. Why? When the Australian Charities Commission (ACNC) was set up later in 2012 religious organisations alone were given an exemption from reporting their wealth. Why?

Interestingly, when the Committee's report came out the cost of religion to Australia roughly calculated by Perkins & Gomez to be annually $31B in gross terms. made as a written submission to the inquiry was ignored and the $1B - $8B figure was used to apply to religious charities generally.