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'We the People' Petition To Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status
An anonymous reader writes: There has been a lot of interest in the activities of the Church of Scientology recently, especially since the release of Alex Gibney's documentary Going Clear. A petition against tax-exempt status for Scientology has been started on the U.S. White House petition website. If it receives more than 100,000 signatures, it will qualify for an official White House response. Even Slashdot has had its own run-ins with Scientology in the past — one of many internet sites to face legal threats from the Church. Has the time come for Scientology go "clear?"
http://tonyortega.org/2015/04/13/if-you-want-the-irs-to-reexamine-scientologys-tax-exempt-status-its-time-to-get-real/
For those who don't haven't heard the story:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
Basically, Germany has refused to recognize Scientology as a religion, a position that has more-or-less lead to an all-out war by Scientology against the whole country. In fact, one of the most bizarre revelations of the Scooter Libby scandal was that Tom Cruise had been actively lobbying Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, and the Bush administration to actually PUT U.S. SANCTIONS on Germany for it (you can't make this shit up).
The cult of Scientology is a criminal organization. Churches don't harass people who leave, so we can be confident that Scientology is a cult, rather than a church. You seem to either be a member of the cult, or to be a very stupid person. I'd be fine with removing tax exempt status from all these fantasy-based groups, but especially that of toxic, blackmailing cults.
Basically, Germany has refused to recognize Scientology as a religion,
To clarify: Nobody in Germany claims officially that Scientology isn't a religion, but it isn't a "religious organisation" that gives it any legal or tax advantages.
You can declare anything you want to be a religion. But for tax advantages, you need more. You need an organisation that tries to be beneficial to society. And that is where Scientology fails quite badly. A religion that said "I believe X, Y and Z and don't give a shit about anybody" wouldn't be a religious organisation the way German laws require it. And a religion that says "I believe X, Y and Z, I exploit people where I can, and I do what I can to hurt my perceived enemies" has no chance.
Harassing people who are not members is illegal.
However, not only do churches do this but the right to church discipline was one of the reasons the America was a land of religious freedom. Mennonite churches (think the Amish), most certainly do harass those who quit. And that Baptist tradition was all during the 19th century quite common. The LDS church, Jehovah's Witnesses. Many of the stricter Protestant faiths do this. And of course Islam does this. So no what you are saying is just false.
I would contest this - the Pastafarians at least publicly acknowledge that what they're doing is hokey BS intended to parody religion, which gives them a bit more credibility.
I think you've completely missed the important facts.
Scientology is still a religion in Germany, but they don't qualify to be state recognized religious organization because they don't do anything to benefit he community. You can be believe Jimmy Buffet is your only ticket to paradise, but he's not gonna get a tax break unless he tells you to give back to the community.
Likewise, you can call whatever you want "a company" but it's not going to be a company--and entitled to the benefits therein--unless it gets a business license.
You can call yourself a cop all you want, but unless you pass the requirements to become a LEO, you're not a cop.
That's the difference.
Meanwhile, the other major religions you listed are all giving back to the community in great numbers. So they do qualify to be a state approved religion. So this is an entirely apples to oranges, reasonable contrast between major religions and Scientology. If Scientology wants to get tax breaks all they have to do (GASP) is start giving a shit about people and trying to help them. If that burden is too high for you to become a religion, I don't think I want you anywhere near a legislative job.
The difference is, when you've been a faithful Catholic for 20 years, and tithed the whole time and whatever else, they don't take you aside one day and say "Hey, here's the super-duper secret Bible that almost no one gets to look at. You're going to love the chapter where after Jesus' resurrection, grey aliens from Proxima 9 took him on a 2-millienium mission to the stars."
Scientology does just that. If you have no idea, going in, about what thetans are, or where they come from, you don't find out about them until you're so invested in Scientology that it's very difficult to break away from it. "It has to be true, look how much time and money I've invested in it."
And that's another thing.
Let's say, for whatever reason, that I want to study up on Christianity. Well, one option that a lot of churches have are discussion groups/classes on it, especially for people who are converting to that church.
A lot of those classes are pretty cheap, if not outright free, and here's the important bit. You don't actually have to take them. I could, right now, walk into practically any church in the country and join, for free.
In Scientology, if you want to learn more (or are peer-pressured to do so), every class costs money. The higher you go, the pricier the classes. Oh, but you can get around some of the costs by signing a billion-year contract.
Yeah, that's all completely normal and above board.
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
Well, the N.F.L., N.H.L., P.G.A. and L.G.P.A are tax exempt http://www.nytimes.com/roomfor...
That's because the leagues themselves are not-for-profit organizations. All of the profit in professional sports goes to the individual teams, who do (or at least should) pay taxes on those profits. Whether or not all of the "business expenses" of the leagues are appropriate is, as with any corporation, of course debatable.
Similarly, most religious organizations do not have any owners or shareholders that get dividend checks at the end of every year. I've witnessed first-hand how difficult it can be just to balance the budget; it's always a struggle between higher membership dues, cutting programs, or trying to organize a major fundraising campaign.
Yes, pretty funny story.
A local church that has been hosting naked paint parties and slumber-party Sundays with the "sexiest ladies on the beach" will now have to pay taxes on the property as officers investigate the church's practices, authorities said Tuesday. [...] Sheriff Frank McKeithen said it is a "blatant slap in the face" to taxpayers and law enforcement. "They're trying to get around the laws, and they're using the church to get there," McKeithen said.
On the plus side, if that's enough justification to strip this church of its tax-exempt status, maybe it'll work on the scienos, too.
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
I ask this honestly, as a non-USian - Illinois recently passed the "religious freedom for bakers that don't want to cater to gays because jebus"-act. But how is a religion defined in the US? Could I (theoretically, were I to live in IL as a citizen) start my own religion (here in .fi it takes just 20 people), and decide to not serve some of the customers of my business because of some arbitrary rule that happens to exist in my religion? Or is that while all religions are equal, some religions are more equal than others?
The term was first used around the time of the civil war, but as an official motto wasn't adopted until 1956. It's there to ward off "Godless Commies".
horror vacui
Churches are tax exempt because they're churches. If they satisfy the requirements of a tax exempt non-profit or charity, that's great. If not, pay your taxes.
That makes no sense. The 501(c)3 tax code doesn't mention churches or religion at all. So, no, churches are in no way tax exempt because they're churches. They're tax exempt because they meet the requirements of 501(c)3- just like the Sierra Club and the Humane Society.
There is absolutely no constitutional way to make churches pay taxes without also requiring the Sierra Club to pay taxes. The only way to make Scientology lose their tax exempt status is to show that they violate the existing rules.
I'm not American, but your IRS site says that to qualify under section 501c you must be an organization that is "charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, [or] preventing cruelty to children or animals."
Therefore, churches are tax exempt because they are religious organizations. That exemption category seems to be problematic because somebody has to decide what is a religious organization, so just eliminate it and let regular churches be tax free under the charitable organization exemption, or one of the others.
That makes no sense. The 501(c)3 tax code doesn't mention churches or religion at all.
Umm, yes it does:
The exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals.
If only I had mod points...