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IRS Under Microscope After John Oliver Televangelism Segment

Operating DB

Truman Show Dropout
I found this article about the IRS and religious tax exempt status today. Here's some snippets.
John Oliver's scintillating HBO program Last Week Tonight has criticized everything from FIFA to government surveillance to the food industry. His latest segment which tackles televangelists who reap million of dollars from faithful followers, has some praying that the IRS will exercise, well, less faith when it comes to televangelist funds.

...The Trinity Foundation, an organization that probes religious fraud, holds that the wild success of televangelism has in part been fueled by the IRS failing to audit churches which are exempt from taxes due to the constitutional right to exercise religion freely.

...Trinity's founder, Ole Anthony, said that since the the IRS named the Church of Scientology several years ago, "anybody can call themselves a church".


Link to full article.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ir...-john-oliver-televangelism-segment/ar-BBm1mGq

Lots of fun comments in the comments section some of which don't have nice things to say about scientology.

It's nice to know there are efforts to reign in the abuses of some "churches'" abuses of their tax exempt status. Let's hope these efforts gain some traction leading to the CofS's tax exempt revocation. :happydance:
 

oneonewasaracecar

Gold Meritorious Patron
...It's nice to know there are efforts to reign in the abuses of some "churches'" abuses of their tax exempt status. Let's hope these efforts gain some traction leading to the CofS's tax exempt revocation. :happydance:

But Scientology isn't a church. Oh wait you used inverted commas.
 

Little David

Gold Meritorious Patron

Churchill

Gold Meritorious Patron
Two pieces in the Washington Post will certainly keep this issue on the front burners for awhile.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theo...e-still-subsidizing-it/?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b

A compelling case can be made that neither Scientology nor the Westboro Baptist Church, "foster the moral or mental improvement" of either the individual or the community, and in fact are guilty of supporting human rights abuses, destroying families.
This is low hanging fruit and "religious cloaking" to be sure.

www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theo...er-tax-exemptions-for-religious-institutions/
 
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