Looks like they've been busted on the sales of parking passes at the RC.
This year, there is no fixed price (Canada).
Parking Passes
by berrygerry 8 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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berrygerry
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Dreamerdude
Oh Canada, go Canada! -
Dreamerdude
Seriously, no suggested donation. I suppose most will assume they should give what they paid last year. -
zeb
Please explain what this is about. -
Anders Andersen
Normally when visiting a convention or exposition at a large venue or fairgrounds, visitors will have to pay for parking. This is extra revenue for the owner of the building.
Watchtower normally rents the venue including the parking lot. Then the congregations are informed of this, and an amount of donations per pub is suggested to recover the cost of the parking lot.
Watchtower states as a reason that it's much more efficient when not all visitors to the convention have to buy parking tickets, and that's true: at most worldy conventions, visitors don't all arrive and leave at the same time, but spread out over the whole day. Ticket vending machine capacity is fit for that, but not for all JW leaving at the same time. Result: traffic jams which the God of peace and order doesn't like. Hence the inclusion of the parking lot in the building rent agreement (but they may also make some money from this arrangement)
Apparently this year in Canada they either couldn't or wouldn't include the parking lot in the venue rental agreement. Or they did, but they didn't suggest to the publishers a fixed donation amount for the parking.
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Anders Andersen
It's interesting btw: they (normally) do suggest an amount pp for the parking lot, but not for the building.
Apparently whatever donations pp could be suggested (rental cost divided by expected visitors) is way lower than current donations pp during a convention. Yeah, conventions are money making events for Watchtower.
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Anders Andersen
See the first post of this thread for some more behind the scenes info.Imagine Watchtower paying $2 per parking spot, then suggesting $5 to the publishers, "which is the normal cost for parking at this venue".
Possibly the venue in Canada made sure WT doesn't make money on their parking lot by prohibiting them from asking a fixed donation amount.
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Lostandfound
Here in UK the WT always just dodged the VAT, sales tax on food, then when tax man arrived, no food! Magazines Sold then taxman questioning then tax free donations introduced, I suspect tax people looking at parking revenue and wanting some sales tax, so another miracle, tax free donations, which here in UK can attract money FROM taxman as part of charitable giving provisions.
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berrygerry
Imagine Watchtower paying $2 per parking spot, then suggesting $5 to the publishers,
The last price that I paid was $45. for the 3 days.
If we use 3500 vehicles (conservative), that's $157,500 just in parking passes.
Not a bad little haul.