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Harvard Political Review: Scientology and Tax Exemptions

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Harvard Political Review: Scientology and Tax Exemptions

http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/scientology-tax-exemptions/

* * * * * BEGIN CONCLUSION * * * * * *

Yingling’s claims, while not entirely substantiated, do merit thoughtful consideration. Still, there is enough evidence for critics like Gibney to reasonably call for an IRS investigation into the Church’s finances. Their allegations, if true, are serious enough to warrant investigation and prosecution of Church practices. In order to sort out the claims made by Gibney and the former Church-goers in his film from those made by Yingling. With the fresh accusations against the Church of Scientology in Gibney’s film, it is hard to ignore the issues that have plagued the Church for years and do nothing. If the Church deserves its tax-exempt status it should be able to prove it by releasing documents and information to the public. If not, then an IRS investigation can separate the facts from fiction

* * * * * END CONCLUSION * * * * *
 

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Complex: Harvard Joins The Call For IRS Investigation Into The Church of Scientology

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/...or-irs-investigation-of-church-of-scientology

* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *

The Harvard Political Review is now joining the growing call for an IRS investigation of Scientology's financial practices, citing a variety of justifications for such an undertaking:

Gibney and others have noted that the leader of the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige, and other notable celebrity members have used Church assets for personal gain and exploited low-wage labor. The use of Church assets for private gain is strictly prohibited by the IRS for tax-exempt status, and these accusations alone merit another look and IRS investigation in light of the growing number of complaints by ex-members that Gibney interviewed.

The HPR also addresses the repeated claims of Monique E. Yingling, a lawyer whose close involvement with the Church during its tumultuous path to a tax-exempt status has made her an unflappable ally for the Church's renewed opposition. Yingling has denied all of Gibney's assertions, positing that he "mischaracterizes the Church and its activities" because the Church released all of its financial documents to the IRS during the 1993 proceedings:

The problem with Yingling’s take is that she assumes, without justification, that the Church’s finances and activities today are exactly the same as they were in 1993. For one, Yingling ignores new evidence of illicit activities, like instances of spying reported in both a 2012 confession of a former member of the Church and a 2013 police report. There was no substantial evidence of such unlawful acts in the 1993 application for tax-exempt status.

* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
 

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
If the political winds continue to circulate and strengthen around this issue, I wonder whether Greta Van Susteren will risk her public image and credibility to defend the indefensible behavior of the Scientology organization under Miscavige's inept and thuggish leadership.

I wonder if he views her as the last firewall to forestall an IRS review.

I wonder if she's been asked.

I hope she told him to go fuck himself.
 

prosecco

Patron Meritorious
Harvard Political Review: Scientology and Tax Exemptions

http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/scientology-tax-exemptions/

* * * * * BEGIN CONCLUSION * * * * * *

Yingling’s claims, while not entirely substantiated, do merit thoughtful consideration. Still, there is enough evidence for critics like Gibney to reasonably call for an IRS investigation into the Church’s finances. Their allegations, if true, are serious enough to warrant investigation and prosecution of Church practices. In order to sort out the claims made by Gibney and the former Church-goers in his film from those made by Yingling. With the fresh accusations against the Church of Scientology in Gibney’s film, it is hard to ignore the issues that have plagued the Church for years and do nothing. If the Church deserves its tax-exempt status it should be able to prove it by releasing documents and information to the public. If not, then an IRS investigation can separate the facts from fiction

* * * * * END CONCLUSION * * * * *

Here's the problem. There is no distinction between a charity and a religion. The calls for the revocation for scientology to lose its tax deductible status is based on lack of any public benefit, which strictly speaking, is more the definition of a charity than a religion.

Personally don't think that scientology is a religion or charity.
 

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
https://twitter.com/MikeRinder/status/603656606711177217

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