Mike Rinder's Blog

Something Can Be Done About It

Kanye, the IRS and Scientology

By 22 Comments

 

This is an interesting recent Forbes magazine article.

The author covers how Kanye West, who has changed his name to Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West and conducts “Sunday Services,” could actually file for tax exemption and reap mighty benefits.

He describes what the IRS criteria are for granting such a religious exemption:

  1. Distinct legal existence;
  2. Recognized creed and form of worship;
  3. Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government;
  4. Formal code of doctrine and discipline;
  5. Distinct religious history;
  6. Membership not associated with any other church or denomination;
  7. Organization of ordained ministers;
  8. Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed study;
  9. Literature of its own;
  10. Established places of worship;
  11. Regular congregations;
  12. Regular religious services;
  13. Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young; and
  14. Schools for preparing its members.

These are the points scientology had to satisfy with the IRS (note especially number 6).

There are a few other requirements not mentioned on this list which apply to ALL exempt organizations — the proceeds may not inure to the benefit of any individual. The organization must not be “commercial.” It cannot be in violation of “public policy.” Scientology does not fulfill the last two of these criteria (it had long been denied exemption on the first test due to inurement to Hubbard though he of course claimed he didn’t make a penny from the organizations and in fact they were in debt to him which was another of his fanciful tales). The United States Supreme Court in Hernandez v Commissioner determined the issue of commerciality but the IRS ignored that in their determination that scientology deserved exemption. There is tons of evidence of violation of public policy — specifically including the attacks on the IRS that caused them to cave in.

The author also noted that “a church does not even need to apply for tax exemption. The church can just operate that way without the IRS’s explicit blessing. Most churches do ask the IRS for exemption, but they are not actually required to. This is just part of the proof that for a tax-exempt organization, church status is truly the gold standard.”

And he concluded his piece: “That is one reason the Church of Scientology fought against the IRS for so very long. After many years of sparring with the IRS over whether Scientology was a church, there were numerous lawsuits and eventually the IRS ruled that Scientology was a church. But not everyone was happy. The New York Times claimed that the IRS reversed 30 years of precedent to grant Scientology Section 501(c)(3) status. As for Kanye, if he wants to go down this road, I’m betting it wouldn’t be that hard for his tax people to put it together.”

This last paragraph is the crux of the problem.

Scientology’s tax exemption is not just harmful to those affected directly by scientology (like the City of Clearwater), it is harmful in the larger context of setting a precedent that opens the door for others to abuse the system.

 

Comments

      • Well, OK, Chris! Point taken with no disagreement.

        But, in my own defense, I didn’t read it anywhere but here. And, frankly, what Kanye West does or doesn’t do is u important to me. I ‘m not interested in him as a performer, a person, or as one of the Kashardian husbands. I read it what Mike wrote and took his word for it. If I had cared I would have researched it further, but I didn’t and don’t, so sue me, I’m gullible!

        Reply

  2. I’ve been considering starting my own religion, The Cherch..ch…ch…ah…ah…ah…of the Calathumpian Mugwump.

    Reply

  3. Scientology persisted to game the system. It set an example that other frauds can follow. It’s one more example of Scientology making a world filled with crime, theft, murder, broken family’s, insanity and insolvency.

    Reply

  4. It is a house of straw as many of those points from the IRS are highly unconstitutional and could be challenged in court using MANY precedents.

    Reply

  5. My ears have been perked for a while, watching Kanye’s path, and not for his music. His recent publicity has definitely reminded me of the path the cult took against the IRS when I was a member. Your astute and well-articulated perspective on this article is terrific, as usual! Thanks for your continued dedication to expose the truth about the cult!

    Reply

  6. Let’s not forget the “Church of Dude” and the “Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster”. Scientology was absolutely the one who open the door for this.

    I truly believe I will see the end of Scientology in my lifetime. Mike I believe that will be in big part because of you and the other soldiers out there fighting for the truth.

    I also think the Masterson lawsuit and Valerie’s will bring about some kind of change here very fast. Tick tock David.

    Oh and if you’re reading this David call your father you scumbag. It’s Christmas.

    Reply

  7. It’s so damn infuriating. How many published articles, letters, pleas, infractions, bankruptcies and outright lies does the IRS need. Evidently that pit can never be filled.

    Reply

  8. The secret that the IRS never tells anyone is that the entire tax paying system in the United States is considered voluntary. The IRS knows that they cannot sue everyone in the United States. They thus try to avoid legal battles at all costs. I think it was Goldberg involved in the Scientology tax exemption. He never spoke to the press after granting the Scientology exemption. I know this because I sued the IRS in Springfield, Massachusetts Court in early 1990. I wanted to deduct my $120,000 Scientology bills. I went all the way to the top Eastern Region IRS official and had a long meeting with him. He basically said he wanted to stop my lawsuit because it was not IRS policy to fight if they could avoid it. He told me to take the deductions if I wanted to continue the lawsuit. It did not matter much because Miscavige and Rathbun got overall tax exemption a few months later. So all of this praise of Miscavige is ill founded. All he had to do was show up in Washington and the IRS folded. It is the same thing with other religions. You could be a Satanist like Hubbard and pay no taxes. The IRS does not care that the founding fathers were talking about Christianity. They just want to avoid legal battles. The IRS cracks down on non-profit groups far more than religion.

    Reply

    • George this is why most new churches DON’T apply for the religious exemption but simply take it. Because the IRS hasn’t the authority to determine if theirs is a true religion. Most just take it and dare the IRS to be slaughtered in court.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *