I think the IRS got their eye on this Corporation, after all there is a lot of tax money they can recover if they nail them. In this day of computer technology, electronic transfers along with electronic spying I think they may come up for attention in the near future.
Will the IRS Investigate the Watchtower Society?
by ABibleStudent 44 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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frankiespeakin
Though the IRS had purposely limited the reporting requirements for religious
organizations, they were now beginning to receive increasing pressure to scrutinize new
religious organizations more closely. The Anti-Cult Movement was at the forefront of
this push towards greater legislative restrictions on religious groups. Their efficacy in
influencing tax legislation parallels that of activists? earlier efforts to end McCarthyism
under the Johnson administration. In an illuminating article, James D. Davidson (1998)
revealed how the anti-communist frenzy led to injunctions against religious
organizations endorsing and opposing political candidates within the tax code. After
reviewing the historical development of these regulations, Davidson concluded “tax
laws—including those affecting churches—are politically motivated” (Davidson 1998).
A close examination of the writings circulating within the IRS at the time
indicates that the agency took the recommendations of the Investigative Group and
Anti-Cultists rather seriously. Then IRS Commissioner Kurtz directly cites problems
with the Unification Church, the public concern following the Jonestown tragedy, and
the increasingly visible activities of the Anti-Cult Movement as impetus to review its
policies in relation to “nontraditional” churches and their eligibility for tax exemption.
Kurtz?s supplement to the 1978 Exempt Organization Annual Technical Review
Institute textbook?s summary on the Service?s stance towards churches is evidently
situated in this unusual social context. He states:
Congress has been investigating Reverend Moon's Unification Church
and related organizations for illegal activities. The recent mass suicide at
the People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, drew international comment
and much Congressional interest. And, the press is filled with reports of
"brainwashed" disciples and parents "re-kidnapping" their children.
Kurtz goes on to give details of these events as well as articulate the IRS?s obligation to
assure that other nontraditional religious organizations are not engaging in illegal
activities or activities contrary to Federal public policy. It is important to remain
mindful of the fact that the IRS was responding to a wave of new religions seeking
church status in the wake of Jonestown and it was just the year prior that Kurtz had
outlined the criteria the IRS was using to establish whether or not a religious
organization qualifies as a church.
A Definition and Its Consequences
The social turmoil of the 1970s finally gave the federal government impetus to
reexamine its relationship with new religious organizations rising in the United States.
In a short address to the Practising Law Institute Seventh Biennial Conference on Tax
Planning, Kurtz (1978) stated that a church should have an unspecified number of the
following traits:
(1) A distinct legal existence
(2) A recognized creed and form of worship
(3) A definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
(4) A formal code of doctrine and discipline
(5) A distinct religious history
(6) A membership not associated with any other church or denomination
(7) An organization of ordained ministers
(8) Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies
(9) A literature of its own
(10) Established places of worship
(11) Regular congregations
(12) Regular religious services
(13) Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young
(14) Schools for the preparation of its ministers
However, it wasn?t until 1980, when these criteria were explicitly cited in the Court?s
decision in American Guidance Foundation, Inc. v. United States, that they were given 32
the weight of legal precedent. Until that time, these guidelines were used informally
and the agents were afforded considerable latitude in their determinations.
The IRS, as an agent of the state, has a genuine interest in setting policies for the
purposes of determining and collecting tax revenue. However, these regulations may
have unintended consequences. In the case of religion, the Constitution prohibits the
government from establishing regulations unless it can provide an overriding interest
for which it has no less restricting means to achieve. In order to prevent tax fraud, the
IRS must have the power to set and enforce guidelines for which organizations qualify
for tax exemption as a church. Nevertheless, social scientists cannot afford to ignore
the consequences of these policies, especially since they position the state?s interest in
maintaining the flow of tax revenue against the public?s constitutionally protected right
to the free exercise of religion.
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frankiespeakin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_the_legal_system
The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. [1] The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right to freedom of religion. Critics say that most of the Church's claims are designed to harass Suppressive Persons, people who impede the progress of the Scientology movement. [2] [3] [4]
In the years since its inception, the Church of Scientology's lawsuits filed against newspapers, magazines, government agencies (including the United States tax collecting unit, the IRS), and individuals have numbered in the thousands. In 1991, Timemagazine estimated that the Church spends an average of about $20 million per year on various legal actions, [5] and it is the exclusive client of several 'law firms'. According to a U.S. District Court Memorandum of Decision in 1993, Scientologists "have abused the federal court system by using it, inter alia, to destroy their opponents, rather than to resolve an actual dispute over trademark law or any other legal matter. This constitutes 'extraordinary, malicious, wanton, and oppressive conduct.' ... It is abundantly clear that plaintiffs sought to harass the individual defendants and destroy the church defendants through massive over-litigation and other highly questionable litigation tactics. The Special Master has never seen a more glaring example of bad faith litigation than this." [6] Rulings such as this have classified the Church of Scientology as a chronically vexatious litigant. Legal disputes initiated by Scientology against its former members, the media or others include the following:
- Religious discrimination cases, including recognition as a religious organization.
- Copyright infringement cases. Scientology's religious documents are copyrighted, and many are available only to members who pay for higher levels of courses and auditing.
- Libel and slander cases.
In the past, the Church has been involved in criminal court cases (e.g. United States v. Hubbard), but increasingly, lawsuits are being brought by the Church's members against the Church, such as:
http://christianheadlines.com/blog/2011/01/08/an-overview-of-religious-financial-fraud/
he January 2011 issue of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that Christian religious leaders will commit an estimated $34 billion in financial fraud in 2011 while $31 billion will be spent on global missions. Researchers from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimate that Christian religious leaders will commit $90 million in financial crimes daily and the fraud is growing at a rate of 5.97% each year. If the researchers are correct, religious financial fraud among Christians will almost double in 14 years to $60 billion annually by 2025. 1
Dr. David Barrett, the first editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia and a researcher for the Center, has been studying religious financial fraud for more than 20 years. According to Dr. Todd Johnson, the Center’s director, these statistics were the result of Barrett “developing a balance sheet for global Christianity.” Barrett was “trying to understand the totality of Christian finance.” 2
A Global Problem
Barrett and Johnson in the reference book “World Christian Trends” reported, “Probably 80% of all cases are kept private or swept under the carpet, but each year a rash of megathefts (over $1 million each) is uncovered and publicized in the secular media.” 3 Here is a small sample of religious financial scandals from around the world:
- Brazil: Bishop Edir Macedo, head of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and 9 of his associates have been charged with embezzling more than $2 billion. 4
- Canada: Televangelists Ron and Reynold Mainse allegedly recruited investors in a Ponzi scheme. 5
- China: A whistleblower goes to jail for speaking out after donations for earthquake victims were stolen. 6
- Italy: Police confiscated 23 million euros in a Vatican bank account as part of an investigation into money laundering. 7
- Ukraine: Pastor Sunday Adelaja charged with fraud in promoting a business venture to his congregation that lost $100 million. 8
- United Kingdom: Church treasurer Derek Klein embezzled funds to pay for a stamp collection. 9
- United States: Trent Huddleston, former senior accountant at Oral Roberts University, alleges that more than $1 billion was money laundered annually by members of the Oral Roberts University board. 10
Common Funding Sources of Religious Thieves
- The Offering Plate — In 2002 NBC Dateline aired an exposé on Benny Hinn. Mike Estrella, a former Benny Hinn Ministries employee responsible for counting the money given at Hinn’s crusades, said that he observed Gene Polino, Hinn’s CEO, embezzle thousands of dollars from the crusade collection buckets. 11 Wikipedia describes this practice as “skimming” which “refers to taking cash ‘off the top’ of the daily receipts of a business …” 12
This form of fraud is hard to detect but occassionally the skimmers are caught. A member of St. Ita Catholic Church’s finance committee marked a $100 bill before placing it in the offering plate. The bill disappeared before the church could deposit it in the bank. A priest later acknowledged taking the money. 13
- The Ministry Checking Account and Credit Card — Jason Reynolds, the finance director of National City Christian Church, used the church credit card to acquire a Lexus SUV and Land Rover. He also embezzled over $200,000 by writing himself checks. 14 These forms of fraud can be reduced by requiring two signatures for checks and by insisting on lower credit limits for credit cards.
- Investments — In 1999 the Baptist Foundation of Arizona filed for bankruptcy after accumulating $530 million in liabilities. Dishonest administrators engaged in a cover-up to hide bad investments. William Crotts and his associates set up more than 90 dummy corporations to hide financial losses and used a ponzi scheme to cover old investments. 15 New Church Ventures was the largest dummy corporation formed by the BFA and held $173 million in debts. New Church Ventures had zero employees and provided no funds for building new churches even though that was its stated objective. 16
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Viva la Vida
On abuse cases WT tries to separate the GB from the corporation, but if this is the case would that not affect the WT status as a religion before the IRS?
Either the WT is = to JW for all purposes (as they claim for tax purposes) or they are not (as Lösch claimed in Lopez’s case)
What do you think?
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Old Goat
Going to the IRS is a huge waste of time. It's been tried repeatedly since the 1950s without success.