Posts by OrphanCrow

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

OrphanCrow

Yes, Tim, the doctrinal and structural changes are always about the money.

Even the change in blood fractions was likely due to pressure from the outside and not some 'revelation' or 'new understanding'.

I totally agree. The changes in the blood doctrine are absolutely connected to money - the blood transfusion ban makes lots of money for the WTS. They won't drop it - they have created a perpetual money machine from that one.

The WTS has far too much invested in the bloodless industry to let the blood transfusion ban go. What would happen to all those JWs who work in the field of bloodless medicine if they dropped that ban? What would the WTS do without all those valuable donations that 'bloodless' JW doctors, nurses, administrators, etc, give to them?

I could go on about the WTS connections to bloodless medicine and their investments in that field...but...this thread is about tax. And the WTS' financial maneuvers to keep ahead of the tax man.

It is rather ironic that the WTS' recent push for donations makes it appear that they are in desperate need of cash. They are and they aren't. They need the cash - but it is so they can protect all that money and property they have. Without donations, all of their assets are in jeopardy - they could lose their tax free status. And then the Tower would fall.

Their appeal for donations is an appeal for a defense of their holdings. Their mistake has been to be too profitable and the taxman has an eye on all their wealth. The taxman is coming after them big time. Like Al Capone, evading tax will be their downfall. When you worship money, you worship a god that will bite you on the ass.

29

Mentally Diseased - is it partly our fault that we got this label?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

i was thinking about this the other day.. a common way for apostates to "fade" is to pretend to have depression or anxiety problems.. is it possible, that when apostates become known, the elders report to the society that said person was undergoing mental health problems?

i can see a scenario where the society then took those statistics that were reported and just decided, "well, it looks like the only ones leaving are those with mental diseases.".

oh, and not to mention the subliminal messages conspiracy theorists.

OrphanCrow

No, I do not think that apostates are in any way whatsoever responsible for the label of "mentally diseased". The term is not usual for those who suffer from mental issues - by using the word "diseased", the label becomes what Outlaw said - an insult. Disease implies that it is communicable, that the malady of apostates is contagious.

And by the way...that is a form of textual subliminal messaging. Which, apparently, people have the ability to accept before they can accept that an image can do the same thing.

Oh, and not to mention the subliminal messages conspiracy theorists. I mean, if subliminal message conspiracy theorist doesn't scream some kind of mental issues, I don't know what does.

And so the subliminal imaging "conspiracy" raises its ugly head once again. Sigh.

I have posted extensively about this subject before and I was reluctant to post again...but, I can't help myself.

I fail to understand the willingness of people to accept that textual information, the kind that has been translated into letters and syntax - a visual language that we have been trained to understand as "text', can be corrupted and manipulated by entities such as the WTS, but - they cannot accept that the same thing is done with the images. The position of those who mock and reject the manipulation of the image is a position, I am afraid to say, of one of ignorance.

I have no compunction saying this - and the reason I can say it with confidence is because I have the backing of experts in the field of image making and critical analysis of the textual components of visual language. And, I am one of those "experts". I have a Masters degree in the study of imaging making and the politics of representation. I can confidently say that I could take the subject of subliminal messages in Watchtower images to a university classroom, on the politics and history of propaganda images, and present a lecture on the subject, to a body of peers - university professors with years of knowledge in cultural studies - on the concept of "subliminal imaging" and the purposefulness of the WTS' images. The result would be an intelligent, rational acceptance of that theory. I know this because I have already discussed it with educated artists and theorists who see the subliminal images in the WT images and agree that they have been deliberately inserted.

I cannot say the same for this forum. In spite of my own input into this subject, and other posters who have consulted professional artists and other academics on this subject who collaborate the theory...there still are people with no training, no knowledge, and no background in art or the history of imaging, or the ability to read an image as a text, who will still come on here and make that cultural stereotypical insult that artists are "mentally diseased". Or, that those who study the phenomena of subliminal imaging in WTS literature are mentally diseased.

Well, if disease is communicable, I can only hope that you catch the "disease" of being able to deconstruct images as well as you can deconstruct text.

Image is text, and the text of the image is not sacrosanct - the WTS manipulates the image text just as much as they do the alphabetic text.

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

OrphanCrow

I think that 2% floor could impact the WTS in a big way. Let's say that someone's AGI is 100,000. that means that the first 2 grand that they donate to the WTS comes completely out of their pocket - no tax deduction.

Maybe the WTS has forgiven KH loans for another reason as well.

Tax status as a charity requires donations.

I think the push for donations from the JWs is critical for the WTS at this point. I don't think they need the money so much - they need to show donations on the books to keep their tax free status. The WTS couldn't claim the KH loans as donations.

Without donations, a nonprofit can lose their tax free status.

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

OrphanCrow

Sir82, the links in your post go to "page not found".

But I did find an article that gives more information on the highlights of the Tax Reform Proposal:

12 Things Nonprofits Should Know About Proposed Tax Reform

Unrelated Business Income Tax – Currently under the law, tax-exempt organizations may calculate unrelated business income tax (UBIT) based on the gross income of all business activities, minus the deductions connected with carrying on those activities. Losses generated by one activity can be used to offset the gains from another. However, under the Camp legislation, organizations will have to calculate UBIT separately for each business activity. This means that the loss from one unrelated business activity will no longer be used to offset the income from another unrelated trade or business activity. Furthermore, any sale or licensing by a tax-exempt organization of its name or logo (including any related trademark or copyright) will be treated as an unrelated trade or business.

From reading the rest of the article, there are some pretty big changes being proposed to tax law for nonprofits. Here is one:

Payout Requirement for Donor Advised Funds – Donor advised funds will be required to distribute all contributions within 5 years of receipt or otherwise face a 20% excise tax on the amount not distributed.

This one may impact the WTS as well:

Two-percent Floor for Charitable Giving – A two-percent floor will be imposed for charitable donations to qualify for a deduction. This means that taxpayers may only deduct the amount of their charitable giving that exceeds two percent of their AGI. A 2011 study by the Congressional Budget Office determined that this type of two-percent floor would likely cut charitable giving by approximately $3 billion

Would this not impact every JW who contributes? It sounds like they will lose the full amount of their donations as a tax exemption.

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

OrphanCrow

sir82: But that raises the question - why would a change to Canadian tax law force a worldwide change to revenue structure? Less than 2% of the JW population resides in Canada. Couldn't they just quietly fix things there?

Which leads me to believe that tax laws (in developed countries) for charitable and non-profits are being scrutinized in countries other than just Canada. We are smart up here :p but lots of countries have smart people in them who don't like religions being used as profit making machines.

The UK, for one, has been pretty intense in their investigations into charities, as well as Australia.

No wonder the WTS has focused so much on developing countries - the tax laws are likely different than in developed countries.

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

OrphanCrow

Morpheus: Why would canda donate the telephoti lens, one charity to another, and get to donate it?

This probably has to do with limits on capital purchases. It is possible that NY has to dilute their capital spending to fall into line with non-profit requirements that capital expenditure have to come from donations. So, gifts are allowed. The lens becomes a gift from Canada to the US. Voila! International charity.

Or something like that...

Crazyguy: I wonder if there was some changes in the tax code of the USA that also led to this?

I have spent some time looking around to see if this is the case but have been unable to find anything conclusive. However, it would not surprise me if it is - what happens in the King of the North is often a reflection of what happens in the King of the South.

If the CRA is clamping down on non-profits here and making them reduce their reserve funds (which long term investments are part of), then it would likely follow that this is the case south of the border, too.

Which might well account for the shortfall that the WTS is experiencing with Walkill. They probably started that project as a way to reduce their reserve fund as a requirement for non-profits to retain their tax status. But the taxman might have, after the project started, told them that they had to dump their long term investments (KH loans) and now the WTS is stuck looking at a double reduction in reserve funds.

Does the IRS publish any tax returns on non-profits like Canada does? It would be interesting to know the amount of money involved in the KH loan forgiveness across the States and elsewhere. The amount has to be many times what was forgiven in Canada and the Canadian amount is almost $36 million. There are 1380 congregations in Canada, and only 434 of them make up that 36 mil. In the States, there are 13,871 congregations. The amount forgiven in the United States must be astronomical.

One more question - was the forgiveness of KH loans only a North American phenomena, or was this policy put in effect globally? Did the WTS forgive the loans in countries that didn't require it for tax exempt purposes?

45

Why a new "World Headquarters"?

by 4thgen in

i just dont get it.

the gb moved to patterson and are conducting business from there, right?

they are not printing as much literature as they once were and they are still operating walkill for the magazines...er a ....pamphlets.

OrphanCrow

I'm definitely more scared of the IRS than I am of Jehovah.

Lol! And now we know who Jehovah really is.

45

Why a new "World Headquarters"?

by 4thgen in

i just dont get it.

the gb moved to patterson and are conducting business from there, right?

they are not printing as much literature as they once were and they are still operating walkill for the magazines...er a ....pamphlets.

OrphanCrow

It probably has to do with tax laws for non-profits.

Building a world headquarters is likely an allowable expense for charitable purposes. It is a place to put their money.

It will have nothing to do with religious matters or growth and everything to do with what they are allowed to spend their money on and not pay tax.

Oubliette: Actually, one of the GB, Guy Pierce, publicly admitted at the 127th annual meeting of the Watch Tower Society, held on October 1st, 2011, that they did NOT know if it is/was Jehovah's will or not to do this.

Yeah, they were probably waiting on a tax ruling.

11

Top Five Things...

by FusionTheism in

jw
friends

what are the top 5 things you hate most about the jw organization and top 5 things you like most?

OrphanCrow

Don't like

1. That it is a patriarchal organization that promotes the oppression and abuse of women

2. That they give out false medical information concerning blood that results in needless deaths

3. That they promote elitism and the consequence of that is the spread of hatred

4. They lie

5. They don't tip well

Like:

1. Their lies are easy to spot

2. They don't come to staff Xmas parties

3. They bring literature to my door that I can use in my artwork

4. They make good subjects for academic research into how authoritarian religious thought is harmful to social behaviour

5. I don't have to buy Xmas gifts or send birthday cards to them - saves me money

42

I need help with this one. What do you think I should do?

by Quarterback in

jw
friends

my wife is pleasant and easy to get along with.

she is also helpful to many.

lately, however, there is a jw sister who some are curious about has befreinded my wife.

OrphanCrow

Quarterback: Come on now, What more can be done?

Quit going to meetings.