No worries, point taken
Third Sector Article: Supreme Court tells Jehovah's Witness charity it cannot stop inquiry
by AndersonsInfo 15 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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darkspilver
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Vidiot
OrphanCrow - "I find it interesting that this article identifies the JW organization as a 'charity' rather than a 'religion', which is the usual label attached to them when they are in the news."
Pssh.
The WTS is "charitable" the way Bill and Ted were "guitarists". :smirk:
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OrphanCrow
vidiot: Pssh.
The WTS is "charitable" the way Bill and Ted were "guitarists".Well, yeah. We know that
Now the rest of the world can find out too
The 'charitable' work of the WTS has only been undertaken because it was required activity to qualify for tax breaks
The WTS has done all sorts of contortions and misrepresented themselves on tax returns in order to fall under the third sector umbrella.
For example, in Canada, the individual congregations' tax returns list an elder as "Fund Raising Chairman" (a few years back...not sure how they file now). That is quite the transformation from being a "Shepherd of the Flock", an elder ...in charge of spiritual welfare...only. And, the fund raising activities fell under "Pamphlet Campaigns"...you know, like canvassing towns to invite people to the Memorial. All the JW 'religious' activities were re-labelled in order to qualify for filing as a 'charity'
I only wish that their entire tax filings were made transparent. They should be - it is the public who gave them their tax breaks. It is time they are held accountable
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darkspilver
The WTS is "charitable" the way Bill and Ted were "guitarists".
As they are a 'church' - it would seem to be a legal requirement? They MUST be registered as a charity?
https://fiec.org.uk/what-we-do/strand-blog/do-you-need-to-register-with-the-charity-commission
"In England and Wales, a charity is any institution that is established wholly for charitable purposes. Most independent churches fall within this definition. Therefore, they need to register with the Charity Commission unless they are excepted from registration."
Many churches incorrectly believe that, because they are a church or a place of worship, they do not need to be registered. This is not the case. There is no blanket exemption from registration. Some, but not many, churches in England and Wales do not currently have to register. But these exceptions are now very limited and are subject to expected future changes in the law and to the changing individual circumstances of the church.
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cofty
I think that means that if you want to operate as if you are a charity then you must register with the CC. There is no obligation for a church to operate as a charity. They could become a non-charitable club and lose the benefits of charitable status.
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darkspilver
I think that means that if you want to operate as if you are a charity then you must register with the CC. There is no obligation for a church to operate as a charity. They could become a non-charitable club and lose the benefits of charitable status.
I understand the law changed a few years ago - when suddenly each congregation became its own charity.
The public remit would be the public meetings they hold and the public ministry they conduct.
I think one of the things is having a public sign showing meeting times on the place of worship - I believe that may be an issue for the (Exclusive) Plymouth Brethren