Churches should retain their income-tax-free status due to their immense social and economic contributions, a leading academic in charity law has said.

University of Waikato’s Faculty of Law associate professor Dr Juliet Chevalier-Watts said she changed her view after over a decade of research into religion and charity law, including the economic impact of religious charities in New Zealand.

Recent actions by Destiny Church at LGBT events had reignited scrutiny over churches' tax exemptions, University of Waikato’s Faculty of Law associate professor Dr Juliet Chevalier-Watts said.

“Instead of finding that churches should pay more tax, I somewhat awkwardly reached the opposite conclusion,” Chevalier-Watts said.

“Without churches, New Zealand would plunge into irreversible poverty and chaos overnight. If anything, churches should pay less tax and receive more government assistance.”

Chevalier-Watts said recent actions by Destiny Church at LGBT events had reignited scrutiny over churches' tax exemptions, but most religious organisations quietly provide crucial social support without attracting attention.

“Because there is little research into the value churches provide to New Zealand, and we don’t hear many stories about their contributions, they often go unrecognised,” Chevalier-Watts said.

“Yet churches are supported by over 65,000 volunteers deeply connected to their communities. The average church has six active volunteers for every staff member, a far more generous ratio than the charity sector average.”

She found that religious charities contributed $6.1 billion to the economy in 2018 alone.

The economic impact of charities “is worth more to GDP than entire industries such as commercial fishing and forestry combined”, Chevalier-Watts said.

“And that figure excludes indirect benefits across health, employment, education, social cohesion, and pro-social behaviour.”

She said it was important to remember that charities, including more than 3000 churches in New Zealand, are tax-exempt because their public benefits reduce the financial burden on the Government.

“Simply put, without charities, our taxes go up, and disproportionately,” Chevalier-Watts said.

“This is especially true of churches, which help people in ways the government could not for a fraction of the cost.”

Many churches provide food for the homeless, emergency accommodation, legal advice, financial literacy training, addiction services, and companionship for the isolated and elderly, she said.

“Much of this is voluntary work that would otherwise fall to the government or remain unaddressed,” Chevalier-Watts said.

“Policymakers must ensure any reforms do not hinder the good work churches do or make life harder for vulnerable communities.”

Chevalier-Watts said she would support a taskforce to examine how churches could be further empowered to support those in need.

“You know it’s dire when atheists are sticking up for churches,” she said.

“I am confident such a review would find that churches should pay even less tax and receive more government assistance.”