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How to Contact Elected Representatives

May 2, 2023 By Mike Rinder 15 Comments

These are some words of wisdom from a viewer who noticed the discussion of contacting elected officials on one of our YouTube live chats. This person didn't ask for this to be published, so I have hidden personal identifying details in case it might be a problem in some way.   I saw a question in the group live chat re: contacting elected officials (specifically asking for a template they could use) and I thought I could be helpful and explain why that is a VERY bad idea....while offering some tips on what actually works. About me: I was a political communications strategist for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tax Exemption Tagged With: Congress, elected officials, Tax exempt status, Tax Exemption

Alex Gibney Urges IRS to Revoke Scientology’s Tax Exempt Status

April 19, 2023 By Mike Rinder 22 Comments

  A recent interview with Alex Gibney in Rolling Stone where he was asked the following question, jogged my memory. I had the pleasure of seeing Going Clear at its Sundance premiere, which was pretty wild. Is Scientology still on your case? And I’ve done a lot of reporting on Scientology as well, so what’s it like to see Tom Cruise still be the king of Hollywood? It seems he hasn’t had to answer a single question about this stuff in the eight years since Going Clear. I agree. And I’m kind of surprised. I think he took a step away, so he’s not the kind of ambassador for Scientology … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tax Exemption Tagged With: Alex Gibney, Going Clear, irs, LA Times, Tax Exemption, Tom Cruise

How Many Taxpayer-Subsidized Mansions, Homes and Offices Does A Dead Man Need?

March 29, 2023 By Mike Rinder 28 Comments

  This might seem like a foolish question -- but not when it come to L. Ron Hubbard. He apparently needs a whole lot of homes and even more offices... It is one of the lesser-known bizarre facts about scientology and the worship of L. Ron Hubbard that subsequent to his death (or in the words of David Miscavige he "discarded the body... he had used to facilitate his existence in this MEST universe," because it  "had ceased to be useful and in fact had become an impediment to the work he now must do outside of its confines”), many fully furnished mansions and lavish homes were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: L Ron Hubbard, Tax Exemption Tagged With: Bay Head, Bonnie View, Fitzroy St, golden era, HGB, Johannesburg, L. Ron Hubbard, Merrion Square, Paso Robles, Petrolia, Phoenix, St Hill, Tax Exemption, Trementina, Tuolomne, Twin Peaks, Ventura, Whispering Winds

Revoke Scientology’s Tax Exempt Status Immediately

March 16, 2023 By Mike Rinder 11 Comments

This was originally posted under the title: Auditing Scientology: Reexamining Tax Exemption Eligibility which was the title of the article written by Taylor Holley. I believe the ongoing public policy violations alone should be the immediate end of scientology's tax exempt status. Taylor points out how "Public Policy" has been narrowly interpreted to mean discrimination, but this is not what the intent of this regulation is. Spending tax exempt money to spy on people, smear and destroy them is NOT in keeping with "public policy." Scientology violates this every single day. The IRS sits on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tax Exemption Tagged With: irs, Tax Exemption, Taylor Holley

Scientology: Government Against The Ungovernable

May 2, 2022 By Mike Rinder 19 Comments

Two Castle Rock, Colorado High School students, Sally and Madelyn, made a short film about scientology. They entered it in a local competition and won first place in their category! They were required to submit a paper, describing their planned film and why it addressed a worthy topic before they began. You can read their submission here: Context Essay This is their description of their documentary: "Our submission was for the 2022 National History day senior division documentary category! The theme this year is debate and diplomacy, we chose to represent this with the conflict seen … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tax Exemption Tagged With: Castle Rock, Claire Headley, First Amendment, irs, Madelyn West, Sally Pellegrini, Scientology, Tax Exemption

Episode 60: Clearwater City Council Candidate Aaron Smith-Levin

October 4, 2021 By Mike Rinder 28 Comments

  In this episode we talk to our old friend Aaron Smith-Levin about a wide variety of topics, including the status of Goliath the SP dog, but focus on his announcement that he is running to be elected to the Clearwater City Council and the activities of the Aftermath Foundation. Aaron appeared in the original season of The Aftermath, in one of the more memorable episodes:     My recent post about Aaron running for City Council:   Aaron Smith-Levin for City Council website:       Leah Remini: Scientology and the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Aaron Smith-Levin, Clearwater City Council, Fair Game Podcast, irs, Leah Remini, Mark Bunker, Mike Rinder, Tax Exemption, The Aftermath Foundation

Scientology Loses Again in England

August 7, 2021 By Mike Rinder 53 Comments

One of our regular commenters, ISNOINews, pointed out this new decision reported in the UK. Since being denied charitable status in the UK in the early 2000's, scientology has been attempting all sorts of end-runs to circumvent the decision of the Charity Commission. They once again fell falling short as the British regulatory agencies don't just buy the bs scientology tries to foist off about what they do. Here is an article about the latest decision where they were seeking rate (tax) exemptions for 3 org buildings (the org and test center in London and the org in Manchester) on the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tax Exemption Tagged With: charity commission, England, London, Manchester, Massimo Angius, peter hodkin, Tax Exemption, uk

Episode 42: Listener Questions Part 5

May 24, 2021 By Mike Rinder 29 Comments

  We answered more "Listener Questions" this week. These are some of our favorite episodes and we really appreciate the questions people send in. This one was especially fun and I think you all will enjoy it. We talk about the last chapter of Hubbard's life which is documented in the Epilogue of Lawrence Wright's brilliant Going Clear. This is an excerpt detailing what Steve Pfauth, one of the handful of people with Hubbard at the end of his life had to say. We talk about Hubbard's succession and mention the issue appointing Pat and Annie Broeker which Miscavige had … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Annie Broeker, Bonnie View, cremation, Fair Game Podcast, Funeral Service, Gold Base, Hernandez decision, irs, L. Ron Hubbard, Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, OCA, Oxford Capacity Analysis, Petrolia, silent birth, sklar, Tax Exemption, Tremontina, Tuolomne, US Supreme Court, Whispering Winds

Letters to Congress

May 16, 2021 By Mike Rinder 16 Comments

Leah and I have often responded to the question "What can I do to help?" by saying people should write to their elected representatives to demand action. I have been asked a number of times whether there is a form letter to use. Two people have recently sent me copies of letters they have written that may help. The first is a fairly lengthy, footnoted letter and the author has made it possible for you to download it here including the footnotes. He also graciously provided some instructions and guidance on how to go about this:   Hello! Beginning on the next page is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Special Feature Tagged With: Aftermath Foundation, Congress, irs, letters to congress, Tax Exemption, US Representatives

Auditing Scientology: Reexamining Tax Exemption Eligibility

February 17, 2021 By Mike Rinder 57 Comments

IRS exemption scientology

One of our commenters (ISNOINews) forward me a link to a wonderful piece by Taylor Holley, a Juris Doctorate candidate at Texas Tech University Law School written for the Law Review. It is titled  Auditing Scientology: Reexamining the Church's 501(c)3 Tax Exemption Eligibility. If you click on the link above, you can download the full paper -- it is 27 pages long and summarizes all the facts and legal arguments as to why scientology should NOT enjoy tax exempt status. Below I include her abstract summarizing the paper: Abstract The Church of Scientology is one of the most discussed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Special Feature Tagged With: 501(c)3, irs, Law Review, Scientology, scientology tax exemption, Tax exempt status, Tax Exemption, Taylor Holley, Texas Tech

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Important Reading

Troublemaker - Leah Remini
Ruthless - Ron Miscavige
Going Clear - Lawrence Wright
Bare Faced Messiah - Russell Miller
Counterfeit Dreams - Jeff Hawkins
Blown For Good - Marc Headley
Abuse at the Top - Amy Scobee
Unbreakable Miss Lovely - Tony Ortega
The Church of Fear - John Sweeney
Fair Game - Steve Cannane
Inside Scientology - Janet Reitman
A Piece of Blue Sky - Jon Atack
Beyond Belief - Jenna Miscavige
My Billion Year Contract
Escaping Scientology - Karen Schless
Commodore's Messenger - Janis Grady
Commodore's Messenger - Book II
Scythe Tleppo - Nathan Rich
Expert Witness - Jesse Prince
Perfectly Clear - Michelle LeCaire
Ron the War Hero - Chris Owen
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Recent Comments

  • Splunk on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “The seal of confessional in the Catholic Church is absolute. The text in the red box is nothing like that.” Jun 2, 21:39
  • Yawn on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “Hubbard even mentions that eventually you run Scientology off the case. In army slang, it’s uttered, ‘bullshit baffles minds’ -…” Jun 2, 20:59
  • Yawn on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “Well said Chuck.” Jun 2, 20:52
  • Yawn on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “Scientology has had over five decades to prove if Hubbard’s technology works and works as broadly as Hubbard claims. It’s…” Jun 2, 20:39
  • Sharon on Justice for Danny Masterson’s Victims: “Well said!!” Jun 2, 19:51
  • Fred Haseney on Justice for Danny Masterson’s Victims: “Cindy, Poor Danny (who, incidentally, shares a birthday with L. Ron Hubbard) didn’t rate any coverage on the local radio.…” Jun 2, 19:41
  • Fred Haseney on Justice for Danny Masterson’s Victims: “Hi, Mary — His Wikipedia entry has changed since my earier post: “Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) is…” Jun 2, 19:38
  • Karen de la Carriere on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “Brilliant post which will stand the test of time. Not only is it completely illegal in Scn law, rules and…” Jun 2, 19:14
  • Aquamarine on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “GREAT article Mike. While reading it I got flashes of Ralph Macchio’s friend in “My Cousin Vinny” who knew that…” Jun 2, 18:58
  • jim rowles on Scientology’s Lying Response to Masterson Conviction: “I had fun over at TonyO’s page doing an “Awareness” scale plus emotions that Danny may have gone through in…” Jun 2, 18:29

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