I pay what it is worth, which for me is zero.
Society Lossing Money, Free Literature to avoid paying Taxes backfires
by frankiespeakin 20 Replies latest jw friends
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Octarine Prince
It just proved they were full of shit.
Donation is supposed to be donation, not what it's worth. Bullshit.
Backfired like pepper spray in a headwind. -
Gordy
I was Literature Servant when this "donation" scheme was brought in.
I and the Accounts Servant straight away could see that it would lose money.
But of course the Elders wouldn't believe it. The brothers will be honest and pay up etc.
Sure enough about a year later when doing an audit. It became obvious that the amount of literature going out was not being met by the amount of money coming in.
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BluesBrother
I was Cong Secretary at the time of the change and like everybody else we noticed a nosedive in remittances. I can remember giving motivating? talks on the Service Meeting to remind the brothers of the need to contribute to the W W F ...
Of course nowadays some could say that they donate directly to The Society by Deed of Covenant or on line. That way the cong has no knowledge or record of it...But , judging by the ones in the family, they often "forget" and frequently make a new resolve to put something in...I do not remind them
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still_in74
The big question to me is: Is the WT going to be forced to change policy and offer the literature at a set price and pay taxes or continue to lose more and more money?
perhaps with pressuring the new Mini-CO's to talk about donations to the cong's this new "localized" arrangement may create an encumbent responsibility of behalf of the PO's to keep a better tab on donations.
No doubt with PO's acting as Mini-CO's we will see the themes of local needs talks shift towards whatever the congs PO is dealing with in other congs and those that the neighboring cong will be pointing out in theirs every 4 months.
I mean, what PO wants to look like he cant keep HIS cong "up to par"? If donations are sliding you know the PO will hound the cong to step up so as not to appear second rate to the PO/CO visiting soon from the cong down the street. This will be the case for everything - service, attendance, commenting, etc. Instead of distant and disconnected CO visiting twice a year and going away after 3 years the PO's now face old friends and old rivals(?) that they will contend with for years even decades! Perhaps the WTS IS more "cunning like a fox" than sporadic and vacilating.
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NewYork44M
I remember after the change there was a dirt poor family with five or six kids and each had their own insight book that they brought to the meeting.
Dollars to donuts they did not contribute one stinking dime. Good for them.
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NewYork44M
Another story of similar magnitude. I was account servant when the change occured. Several months, maybe it was over a year, there was the special order for the bible or something on a CD. There was a talk given suggesting that if this was sold at a retail store it would be sold for $50 or $60 bucks.
The night the CDs came in 10 or 15 brothers picked up their CDs. When I counted the money that night for the "WorldWideWork" we had a single dime in the contribution box. I remember commenting to the literature servant about this.
One could argue that the brothers came forward and contributed over the next few weeks. I know I did not.
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LovesDubs
Im thinking the time will come when the friends can OPT to get their literature PDF online. And in doing so can only get it via the Watchtower.org web site using a pin number. That can really save them some money. They have already figured out that they CANT keep their rags out of the hands of people who want to see them destroyed...I mean they GIVE them to people dont they? They DISTRIBUTE them dont they? Its not like anything in there is worthy of keeping secret.
Yep...wait for it. watchtower.org/WTAug09.pdf coming to your computer soon!
LD
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still_in74
Yep...wait for it. watchtower.org/WTAug09.pdf coming to your computer soon
who would have not called you an apostate if you suggested MP3 downloads even 5 years ago? "NEVER!" they would say. "The FDS will never use this world to the full by putting literature on the evil inter-web!"
While I dont see the mags being totally replaced i do see the option to D-Load to be the next step For those in remote locations they may only get the study editions online and the publice would be printed - WAIT A MINUTE!
MAYBE THIS IS PART OF THE REASON THEY WENT PRIVATE! - possibly they study edition will be D-Loadable only ! The public will be
soldPlaced in service and there will be a computer servant that will make sure all have a printed copy of the study edition. Why then the cong WILL be paying for their own copy!. Yet I imagine if my printer ran out of ink and I didnt have my own copy I would use that as an excuse to not go. I am sure I would not be the only one. Then attendance would plummet for Sunday. hmmm............. -
hamsterbait
Didn't the Apostle say "to him who calls for the tax [pay] the tax?"
This proves that they are either utterly greedy and want to keep every penny, or they actually do NOT trust that their stone age death god can provide from his stores of gold and treasure.
They violated this scripture in France by refusing to pay. Now they owe many many times more in interest on what is owed. They claim it is clergy inspired persecution.
But France has finally defined what counts as "CHARITY": Do they help the homeless, feed the poor, provide education (in the real sense), provide finacially and physically for the orphans?
As far as everybody else can see, they are not doing any of this in France so are denied tax exemption. Yes the government there has worked out how much they are worth, and what the contributions and investments bring in.
When they finally lose the court case, the money will be tracked down. Changing the names of legal entities and redistributing funds to newly created satellite organizations has been recognized as a typical cult ploy.
I do not think they will ever again exist in France as a properly established operation.
Yep its backfired.
HB